In the Third Sunday of Advent in Year A, John the Baptist from prison has his disciples ask if Jesus is the messiah. Jesus replies with evidence of what He has done: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. Jesus is alluding to not just the first reading of today’s lectionary but several other Old Testament prophesies. Three years ago I embedded a video from Dr. Brant Pitre explaining the allusions. Not only do the allusions point to a messiah, but it points to the coming of God.
The Third Sunday of Advent is the turn from
the stern exhortations from John the Baptist to the joyful coming of the Jesus,
and so we have the rose candle for the celebration. All of nature rejoices with the coming birth.
Here is the Gospel passage.
When John the Baptist
heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples
to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one
who is to come,
or should we look for
another?"
Jesus said to them in
reply,
"Go and tell John
what you hear and see:
the blind 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.
And blessed is the one
who takes no offense at me."
As they were going
off,
Jesus began to speak
to the crowds about John,
"What did you go
out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the
wind?
Then what did you go
out to see?
Someone dressed in
fine clothing?
Those who wear fine
clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go
out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and
more than a prophet.
This is the one about
whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending
my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your
way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of
women
there has been none
greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
~Mt 11:2-11
Fr. Geoffrey Plant
explains the fullness of the significance of Gaudete Sunday.
“So when John the Baptist asked, “Are you the one who is to come?” he was drawing on this rich tapestry of expectation: the Coming One was the long-awaited agent of God’s final and saving intervention in the world.” He would be not just a messiah, but a Divine Messiah. Both John and Jesus start their ministry with a call for repentance but they understand it differently. The winnowing fan and the unquenchable fire on one side while on the other side is “mercy, healing, forgiveness, and inclusion.” That is what confused John and made him ask the question.
Here is another new
homilist, this from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). I did not know the USCCB had a daily
reflection and Sunday homily on YouTube.
It looks like it’s about a year old.
They seem to alternate bishops to give the reflection or homily. Oh this is a nice find. Today’s homily is not even by a full bishop. It’s from Most Rev. Jeffrey R. Haines,
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
“So what does this mean for us? It means for making space for preparing to receive Christ, a reception of Jesus each week especially at Christmas requires that our prayer and worship strengthen us to take on the challenges of our lives and our world….How can we begin to create a space in our heart this advent? We can be signs of joy to our families, our communities and those we meet.” That is the pastoral message for this Gaudete Sunday. Rejoice!
Sunday Meditation: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind
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.”
Not a hymn today but
the dramatization of this scene as portrayed in The Chosen.
The realism of The Chosen sometimes makes me wince a
little, but overall it is very well done.
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