1552 Advent 3 - Hope In Prison

John the Baptist, in prison, sent messengers to Jesus to ask if he truly is the messiah, the one John has so longed to see.  John felt as if all his hopes for God's renewal of the world were dashed when he went into that tiny prison cell.  Had he been wrong to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was so close?  Was he wrong to have promised God's new world that was just around the corner?  Jesus' answer is surprising: he doesn't give a yes or no to the messengers.  Instead, he instructs them to go back to John and tell him what they have seen: the deaf now hear, the lame walk, the blind see, the poor are fed, and even the dead rise to new life.  The question is, what do you think?  In our own day, as we stand with expectation for the coming of God's Kingdom, are we alert and awake to the power and presence of God to renew, reclaim, and lift us up by his grace?