THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
11 DECEMBER 2022
John
the Baptist is in prison. As awful as
modern prisons might be, they cannot compare with ancient prisons. John has been lowered by ropes into a dark
stone pit, sitting alone in the dark, awaiting execution. The question sent by his disciples to ask
Jesus a stunning question gives some insights about his emotional state. He is the cousin who leapt in his mother’s
womb for joy at the Visitation. He had
pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and baptized him in the Jordan River. Now, he asks, “Are you the one who is to
come, or should we look for another?” In
the darkness of that cell, is he so depressed that he has lost his faith? Is he impatient, because his cousin, the
Messiah, had not delivered him from his terrible fate? Or are his expectations of a Messiah crushed
because Jesus is being compassionate instead of hurling judgments at sinners?
Jesus does
not answer his question directly.
Instead, he sends John’s disciples to tell him what they hear and
see. Blind people regain their sight,
the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the
poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
Unlike so many of the religious leader who are finding offense at him,
John is “blessed” if he recognizes that these results of his ministry had been
prophesized by the Prophet Isaiah centuries before.
As we
prepare to celebrate the Lord’s first coming at Christmas and to prepare for
his second coming at the end of the world or at the end of our lives, we too
can find ourselves stuck in some kind of prison. Our prisons can take many forms. We can be immersed in doubt when it seems
that the Lord does not respond to our prayers.
We can be so paralyzed by fear that we cannot open ourselves to any
encounter with Christ or other people.
We can be drowning in an uncertainty that robs us of any confidence in
the faith we profess at Mass. Confined
in those prisons, we can easily ask John’s question to the Lord: “Are you the
one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Jesus does
not get angry with John for asking his question. Instead, he praises him for his heroic role
in taking the attention away from himself and pointing to the coming of the
Messiah. Neither does he dismiss our questions.
Instead, he gives us the same answer.
He urges us to open our eyes to see the ways in which the Lord is
present in our darkened and divided world.
People who have lost their spiritual sight are beginning to see,
especially in many of our adult education offerings in the parish. Some who have been separated from their
families are walking back to be reunited at Christmas. Some who have been forced to the fringes of
society are being welcomed back. Many
are hearing the Word of God for the first time in this Season. Some who have been at death’s door have
recovered. Many poor families who have
received the good news that we care about them through the gifts they received
from our Giving Tree.
We call
this Sunday “Gaudete Sunday,” because we are invited to rejoice and have hope,
even in the midst of a very dark world.
The Letter of Saint James speaks of the importance of patience in
keeping the faith. Like a farmer who
trusts the rhythms of nature to provide a harvest, we must be patient in
looking for the Lord. We encounter him
not by complaining about one another, but by seeing our encounter with each
other as an encounter with Christ. Like
the prophets who did not see the results of their challenging words, we do not
always see the results of our good intentions or actions. Saint James tells us to be patient. He does not define patience as
resignation. Instead, patience is the
fruit of a loving faith that is content to discover God’s gifts in the manner
and the moment the Lord chooses to reveal them.
With that loving faith, we can see the ways in which the Lord comes to
us now. As disciples learning to be more
patient, we can maintain our hope that the kingdom is in our midst now, but not
completely yet here.
You're on a roll, B. Excellent insights. Keep it up. Worm
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