John the Baptist is in prison. Even though he had not wanted to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you," now he asks about Jesus. "Are you the one?" We all have had hopes, plans, and dreams go awry, and John seems to be having second thoughts about Jesus.
In Advent, we need to embrace John's question, and to hear Jesus' answer. Only then can we celebrate the birth of the Messiah Jesus says he is rather than the one we want him to be.