THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
15 DECEMBER 2019
Saint
John the Baptist had leapt in his mother’s womb when her cousin Mary entered
the house with the Messiah in her womb.
He had pointed to the Messiah at the banks of the Jordan River and
baptized him, even though he declared that he was not worthy to carry his
sandals. He heard the voice from heaven
declaring that Jesus is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased.
Given this
close relationship, it seems strange that John would send his disciples to ask
Jesus the question: “Are you the one who
is to come, or should we look for another?”
Does he ask that question because he is in a very dark space, locked in
prison awaiting execution? Or does he
ask that question because Jesus is not living up to his expectations of the job
description of the Messiah? If you
recall, last weekend John had contrasted his baptism of water with Jesus’
baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Instead of talking about unquenchable fire and warning people that they
would be chaff burned in that fire, Jesus is preaching mercy and
forgiveness. Instead of separating the
good from the bad, he is hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors.
Saint
Matthew does not give the reason for John’s question. Instead, he gives the answer of Jesus. Jesus instructs John’s disciples to listen
and hear what is happening. In Jesus,
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. He
cures the blind. He enables the lame to
walk. He touches lepers and restores
them to their families. He allows the
deaf to hear. He restores a dead son to
the widow of Nain, breathes life into the dead daughter of Jairus, gives life
to the centurion’s servant, and brings Lazarus back from the dead. He assures the poor that they are not
forgotten. Jesus is clearly fulfilling
the job description given by the Prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading. He does not come as a Messiah who will
restore Israel to its greatness through military action. He comes as a humble servant initiating the
Kingdom of heaven through dying and rising.
As we light
this third candle on the Advent Wreath, we open our ears to hear these words of
Jesus. Like the Baptist, we might be in
some dark place. We might be mourning
the loss of a loved one or struggling with a breakup in the family or walking
away from a close relationship. We might
wonder why the Messiah had been able to heal so many people, but does not heal
the person closest to me suffering from terminal cancer. On this Gaudete Sunday, the Lord invites us
to peer beyond whatever darkness might be enveloping us to see evidence that
his Kingdom is in our midst. The Lord is
near. We can catch glimpses of that
presence in the cards we open at this time of the year from people who are
distant. We can be surprised by the
kindness shown by others in unexpected ways.
We might be struck by the beauty of the rising sun on a clear day.
Saint James
tells us to be patient as we wait for the Lord’s coming. He gives the example of the farmer, who does
all the preparatory work of tilling the field, planting the seed, and weeding
the crops. That work will produce fruit
once it receives the rains sent by God.
In a similar way, we need to do the preparatory work of giving ourselves
in humble service and opening ourselves to loving and trusting relationships. In these ways, we express a loving faith that
is content to discover God’s gift in the manner and in the moment God reveals
them.
There is a
wonderful way to hear and see what the Lord is doing in our lives at this
time. Come to the Penance Service on
Tuesday evening. Together, we hear the
Word of God. Together, we examine our
consciences. Individually, we confess
our sins to one of the 18 priests.
Through that Sacrament, the Lord opens the eyes of blind sinners. He allows those who are estranged to walk
toward one another. He gives the
alienated back to the community. He
opens the ears of those who have failed to hear. He restores those who have been dead in
sin. And he proclaims to each of us the
Good News of mercy and reconciliation.
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