SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025 | ADVENT THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (A)

Theme: Evidence of the Coming King

Readings: Isaiah 35:1–10; Matthew 11:2–11

[Introduction: Setting the Scene]

Good morning. Since our other service today is the Cantata—filled with music and majesty—I wanted us to do something different in this hour. A slightly more interactive, "dialogical" sermon.

We call today Gaudete Sunday—Joy Sunday. But if we look at our Gospel reading, the mood starts in a very different place. John the Baptist, the one who leapt in the womb for joy, the one who baptized Jesus in the river... is now sitting in a dark, damp prison cell.

He hears reports of what Jesus is doing, but the walls are closing in. Doubt creeps in. He sends his disciples to ask the question that perhaps some of us have asked in the dark of night: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

[Phase 1: Naming the Doubt]

Before we can get to the joy of this Sunday, we must first be honest about the prison. Before we look for the evidence of God, we must name the doubt.

Where do we feel like we are waiting for a King who hasn't arrived yet? Where are our own "weak hands" and "feeble knees" this Advent season, as Isaiah describes?

[Activity: Embodiment of Burden]

I invite you to close your eyes for a moment.

Think about a burden, a fear, or a disappointment you are carrying right now. Maybe it’s a health struggle, a broken relationship, or just the weight of the world news.

[Pause for 10 seconds]

Now, I want you to physically express that feeling right where you are sitting. Let your shoulders slump. Bow your head. Clench your hands if you need to. Let your body reflect the "fearful heart" Isaiah speaks of.

[Look at the congregation; speak gently into the silence]

Lord, you see our posture. You see the weak hands and the feeble knees. You see the doubt that sits in the prison with us. We acknowledge it before you now.

[Phase 2: The Evidence]

Keep your eyes closed for just another moment. Listen to how Jesus answers John.

Jesus does not get angry. He doesn't say, "You fool, how dare you doubt me?" He doesn't demand blind obedience. Instead, He says: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk... and the poor have good news brought to them."

Jesus presents the evidence and lets John reach the conclusion.

[Activity: Finding the Evidence]

[Signal the usher/mic holder to get ready]

You can open your eyes.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith; often, it is an integral part of it. It drives us to look for God more deeply. So, let us do what Jesus asked. Let us tell each other what we hear and see.

Think of a specific moment this week—a person, an event, a small kindness—where you saw the "desert blossom." Where did you see evidence that God is still at work?

We are going to share this evidence. I’m going to ask [Name of Usher] to move around. I invite you to raise your hand and share just one word or one brief sentence of evidence.

I will start: "I saw evidence of God in the patience of a nurse caring for a difficult patient."

[Facilitate Sharing: Allow 5–7 minutes. If there is a lull, encourage them: "Where did you see the lame walk or the sad comforted?" Affirm their answers with a nod or a "Thanks be to God."]

[Synthesis: Connecting the Dots]

[Move back to the pulpit/center]

Look at this collection of evidence.

The community garden harvest. The end of a conflict. A phone call from a friend. The sun breaking through the clouds.

This is not just "nice stuff." This is the Kingdom of God breaking into our world. This is the answer to John’s question.

[Phase 3: Humility and the Least of These]

It is interesting that after John’s disciples leave with this evidence, Jesus speaks so highly of John. He calls him a prophet and more than a prophet.

Jesus affirms John, but He also says, "Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

There is a lesson here about humility. In our world, we are used to leaders who refuse to admit doubt, leaders who lack self-reflection. We see people who, when they make a mistake, double down. Their pride takes over. They convince themselves they are playing "4D chess" when really, they are just lost in their own ego.

But the Kingdom of God is different. John spoke truth to power and was humble enough to ask, "Is it you?" Jesus was secure enough to say, "Look at the evidence."

Beloved, Jesus doesn't need our blind obedience or our toxic positivity. As we await Christmas, it is okay not to be blissfully happy every second. We are complex beings. But the Holy Spirit calls us to release the tension by looking at the evidence we just shared.

[Phase 4: Strengthening and Sending]

So, let us answer the call of Isaiah. We have named the doubt. We have seen the evidence. Now, let us change our posture.

[Activity: Embodiment of Hope]

Please, if you are able, stand up.

Release that posture of doubt you held earlier.

Take a deep breath.

Lift your shoulders. Open your hands. Raise your head high.

Feel the strength return to your "feeble knees."

[Benediction]

Isaiah promises that the ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

You have seen the evidence.

You are the evidence.

Go now, not with blind optimism, but with eyes wide open to the goodness of God.

Amen.

Prayer

Gracious God, You met the honest questions of John the Baptist not with judgment, but with signs of healing and grace; look upon us now in our own moments of doubt. Strengthen our weak hands and make firm our feeble knees, and grant us the eyes to see the evidence of Your Kingdom breaking into our midst today, so that we may lift our heads in hope and trade our heavy burdens for Your everlasting joy.