Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11; Isaiah 35:5-6; Malachi 3:1 Series: Advent 2025
On Gaudete Sunday, just as Jesus answers John’s question not with a yes-or-no but by pointing to what he has done, the church proclaims the nearness of the incarnate Lord by showing rather than telling—culminating in the choir’s cantata offered to awaken child-like wonder.
Illustrations: show-dont-tell-writing, dark-and-stormy-night, start-praying-not-promising, jesus-silent-before-caesar, gaudete-pink-candle, joseph-martin-cantata-foreword
December 14
Cantata
The Third Sunday of Advent
Matthew 11:2-11
“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:2-11 NRSV
One of my majors in college was English. There is a creative writing component to it that I really enjoyed. There’s an old writing adage there: show don’t tell. If you have ever tried creative writing, someone has probably given you that advice, show don’t tell.
Now, of course, there are times when you need to tell. It’s not a hard rule, but it’s a helpful reminder that if you’re trying to set a scene in your poem, saying it was a dark and stormy night, doesn’t make you think about a dark and stormy night. You are jarred away from the use of your imagination by the clichéd hand-holding of the author.
But when you describe the darkness of a night and describe the storm, it helps draw the reader in. Similarly, if you call someone smart, that’s one thing that means very little on the page. If you show the character being smart, doing smart things, you’re pulled in.
As a writer, it’s a lot easier to just say he was smart or to say, he was a very good poet. Showing someone being smart is much harder to pull off. Showing a character produce good poetry is even more difficult.
Show don’t tell. I think it’s helpful advice with storytelling. I think it’s also helpful a person in our moral life. Instead of saying, “I’m going to pray for you.” Start praying. Praying is about connection more than wishes. Connections to God and to each other. Don’t hesitate to pray. If you are going to love somebody, show that. Don’t just tell them. Because saying, I love you, eventually becomes hollow if there’s no follow through. If you’re gonna love your neighbor, you show them. You don’t just tell them. In fact, it is much more difficult to show someone love than to tell them about love.
If you’re going to forgive someone, show them, don’t just tell them. That is often the hardest of all.
My friends, today we are soon going to hear our wonderful choir and instrumentalists present a Cantata as we move closer to Christmas. We’re preparing our way for the coming of Jesus, and we have a scripture that describes who God is for us.
Emmanuel means God with us. Jesus quotes from Isaiah where there are a number of these Messianic passages that can be guiding for us.
Jesus shows us who he is. Jesus shows us by pointing back to expectations of his coming, but also Jesus shows us who he is by describing what he has done.
The students of John ask him, are you the one we’re waiting for? Jesus doesn’t reply in a yes or no manner. He describes what he has done.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me
Jesus rarely ever replies the yes or no manner during the passion in front of Caesar. When asked directly by Caesar, Jesus does not answer yes or no.
Jesus shows us who he is on the cross. Jesus shows us who he is by coming as a child at Christmas.
Today is Gaudate Sunday. The pink candle, for those keeping track. Advent was originally a penitential season like Lent. Gaudate is the day the church shifts from saying “Come, Lord Jesus,” to “The Lord is close at hand.” It signifies the nearness of the Lord’s coming. Because the Lord is close at hand, our choir shares with you an invitation to a miracle by Joseph Martin.
Our cantata is a musical offering to show the miracle of Christmas in a different way so that our hardened ears and minds might be softened by the music. There will be a number of movements throughout with different narration in between, filling in the gaps between the movements. Please refrain from clapping until the end of the Cantata so that you can take in the whole work entirely.
Finally, I want to conclude with the words of the composer, Joseph Martin, which he wrote as a foreword to the piece.
When we ponder the miracles surrounding the birth of Jesus, we discover in abundance the lavish character of God’s love. Soaring above our human understanding is an amazing grace that unexpectedly wraps divinity in swaddling clothes. Beyond our dreams we find an artful mercy that decorates the dust of a rustic stable with everlasting light. We encounter the glory of God, pouring over the walls of heaven and filling the darkness with angel choirs and dancing stars. We stand amazed at the mystery and majesty of God’s awesome power and His infinite tenderness. Perhaps most amazing of all are the myriad ways in which celebrating these marvels of old awaken in us today a sense of the divine and fill us with a child-like wonder. In the singing of this work, may you draw close to the manger and open your heart to the unexpected glories of this season of wonders.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.