In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist sends two disciples to find Jesus to ask Him to confirm His identity as the Messiah. Jesus responds to the two by healing people around them and then tells them to go to John to report what they have seen.
During this time, John the Baptist was in prison and heard many different stories about Jesus. He began to lose faith and questioned whether Jesus was the true Messiah. Although Advent is a season of hope, the lesson here is that it is okay to have doubts. John, like many of us, had doubts in his faith and questioned Christ.
Doubt comes from dark times in life, and even here John’s doubt comes from being in prison. It is important to note that when Jesus was approached by the two disciples, he did not reject or rebuke John the Baptist. Instead, he performed miracles to strengthen John’s faith. God knows in our heart we are believers, and He understands we have doubts. The best thing to do this Advent season is to turn to Jesus and have faith. This is the season of hope and the beginning of the liturgical year. God loves you and wants you to be strong in your faith.
–Andrew Purcell, Class of 2022
