THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
11 DECEMBER 2016
Last
Sunday, we met a bold and confident John the Baptist. He drew people away from the Temple in
Jerusalem, where they had encountered God for centuries. In the barrenness of the desert, he told them
that they would encounter God in the person of Jesus Christ, the promised
Messiah. They needed to repent and change
their lives in order to recognize him.
Today, John
is neither bold nor confident. If
anything, he is impatient and despondent.
He sits in the darkness of a prison cell, because he had the courage to
tell Herod that he should not be living with his brother’s wife. We can only guess why he is so impatient. Maybe, Jesus is not acting like the Messiah
whom John had expected. He had not
gotten rid of Herod and his rotten cronies.
He had not removed the threat of execution hanging over his head. He had not been calling down fire and
brimstone from heaven. Instead, Jesus
eats with tax collectors and sinners and talks about a Kingdom of mercy and
compassion. So, he sends his disciples
to ask Jesus the question: “Are you the
one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Jesus does
not directly answer his question.
Instead, he tells John’s disciples to report to him what they hear and
see. What they hear and see are the messianic
signs described by Isaiah. Those who
encounter Jesus are being changed. The
blind regain their sight. The lame begin
to walk. Lepers are cleansed and
reunited with families. The deaf
hear. Dead people are brought back to
life. Most importantly, the poor have
the good news preached to them.
Jesus does
not criticize John for doubting or being impatient. Jesus knows that John is a human in a fallen
world, like the rest of us. So he
praises him for his critical role in Salvation History. John pointed to the Messiah. As great as John is, anyone who embraces the
kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist. In other words, anyone who performs a simple
act of faith in the name of Jesus Christ is as great as the prophetic action of
John the Baptist.
By the time
Saint Matthew recorded these words of Jesus, his readers needed to hear this
message. Many in the community were
being persecuted for their faith and shunned by their fellow Jews. The Romans were still in charge. The promise of Jesus that he would come again
in glory had not been realized. That is
why Matthew quotes John in the plural – are we to look for another? He
speaks for his community. Through his
Gospel, Jesus says the same thing to them 50 years after he had delivered these
same words to John the Baptist. Look
around yourselves, he says, and see what happens to those who perform simple
acts of faith in his name.
Jesus says
the same thing to us today. In the
darkness of our world, it is easy to get impatient. Having faith in Jesus Christ does not take
away the problems that beset us. People
still get sick and die. War and hatred
continue to destroy the lives of many.
Our country remains divided and distrustful of each other. That is why Jesus tells us to open our eyes
to see and our ears to hear signs of the Lord’s presence, even in the midst of
darkness. Those who encounter Jesus
Christ can be transformed. Enemies can
be reconciled and begin to walk to each other.
Those who have been rejected by families can be welcomed back. We proclaim the resurrection of the Lord at
every Mass. Thanks to the example of
Pope Francis, the poor have the good news preached to them.
We wear
rose vestments today, because we can see signs of his presence in our troubled
world. We wait to celebrate his first
coming in two weeks. Saint James tells
us to wait with patience. Being patient
does not mean that we simply resign ourselves to whatever happens. Being patient is the fruit of a deep faith
that continues to look for ways in which Christ manifests himself in his own
way in our individual lives. We don’t
need to look for another.
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