****
Some of you may know that my mother died from pancreatic cancer six years ago.
While she was sick, I was overseas studying for the priesthood.
Even from a distance, I was part of a prayer chain that begged the Lord for nine straight months that she be healed.
We all believed He had the power to do it.
But on March 11, 2014, she left this world.
***
Over the years, some people have asked me, “How can you serve a God who doesn’t answer your prayers?”
***
Consider the life of John the Baptist.
***
In today’s Gospel, he realizes that Jesus is the Son of God.
In his words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! … I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him.”
In terms of the spiritual life, things don’t get much better than that. John has seen God.
But shortly thereafter, John’s found locked inside a prison cell in the bowels of King Herod’s palace.
Talk about a fall from grace.
To make matters worse, John has a real crisis of faith. He sends his friends to meet Jesus, asking him, “Are you the One who is to come? Or should we wait for another?”
In other words, was this all for nothing?
John handed off his ministry to Jesus, thinking he’d bring fire, the sword, and divine justice. But it looks like nothing’s changed, at least for John.
***
I have no doubt John longed to be freed from prison.
But Jesus told John’s friends:
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
To take offense at Jesus means to run away, to doubt, to quit.
Jesus won’t release John from those prison walls. Anyone can ask why, easily arguing he should!
But he doesn’t. And we don’t know why.
Maybe it was simply to remind us that evil has some power in this world. And often human beings, like King Herod, are the ones behind it.
Still, “Blessed is the one who takes no offense” at Jesus. Blessed is the one who doesn’t quit.
Just as rain is effective at night, watering every plant it touches, so God was watering John’s soul in the darkness, inviting him to trust.
Although John died a grisly death, Jesus was preparing to do the same so that his beloved friend might live again.
In the resurrection, King Herod and the evil forces of this world have no power over John.
***
This brings us to one of the more difficult truths of our faith.
Although God performs miracles and answers prayers, it isn’t always the case.
John the Baptist reminds us of that.
My mother reminds me of that.
Such a difficult truth has cost some their faith, asking, “How can I serve a God who doesn’t answer me, at least the way I want?”
Again, we must keep the heart of our faith in mind. As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of the dead.
It’s why we’re here at Mass. It’s why we consume the Eucharist. It’s why we dare to hope, why we dare to believe.
Every miracle or answered prayer from the Lord is meant to deepen our faith in this essential truth.
***
Think of our Lord’s response to our prayers like a stoplight.
Sometimes the light is green. We ask for something and immediately it’s given.
Sometimes the light is yellow. We ask for something repeatedly, and eventually we get it.
But sometimes the light is red. We just don’t get what we want.
***
Perhaps John the Baptist is the model for all of us who doubt, question, or have prayers that go unanswered.
Sometimes our lives – like his – take unexpected, even tragic, turns. But the Lord still invites us to faith.
In particular, to believe in the resurrection of the dead. That will be the moment when God makes all things right and evil is destroyed forever.
That’s the Easter perspective present in a trusting Christian heart.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.