John the Baptist was in prison. He was subject to the cruel rules -- and nutty whims -- of Herod. (Such whims would later take his life.) But he was not in isolation; he had contact with his core followers, and there were others in the same situation as he was (or worse). Word was getting back to him about a teacher and healer doing amazing things in Galilee. This preacher was the same man he had baptized not long ago, and they were familiar with each other. But something new was afoot. He was hearing that Jesus was acting and preaching with a potency that had not been seen before. So he sent two of his followers to report back to him, to find out whether Jesus was the one he had been preaching about all these years.
So they went. And what did they see? A man teaching the highest truths to all who sought the truth. Good news spread to the poor. The crippled walked, the blind saw, the lepers were cleansed. Even death responded to him. Acts of strength. Power. Authority. Just like the Messiah John had been preaching about. So they went to Jesus and asked him John's question : "Are you Coming One?". Jesus told them, "see for yourselves!" The evidence was all around them.
Advent is the season of coming. What John's followers saw was just a beginning, a sampling of what the coming of the Kingdom of God and the end of this-world-as-we-know-it would bring. Jesus' main course was yet to come, in all its ugly horror and overpowering glory. On this side of the death and rising of Christ, we are looking forward to the rest of it, to Christ's return, bringing with Him the full force of the Kingdom of God. Christ is with us now, too, thanks to the Spirit, and we can live in the wonders of that till all is complete. So, even though Jesus has come, and is here, we still are waiting. Something's afoot, and we wait for it to come.
Father, help us live as the foretastes of your Kingdom, as we await the coming of the One who leads us. Amen.
A challenge : can you find anything in your life that you take part in because of the Kingdom that is to come?