THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT: Year A.
17 Dec 2008

1. The third Sunday in Advent is one where we are called to wait patiently for the Messiah and yet paradoxically the mood and colour of the vestments are one of anticipated Joy. It is like tasting the food before it was made.

But this is not a contradiction. Waiting patiently for the Lord is not waiting passively for the Lord. Patiently here means

waiting alertly,

waiting with eager expectation,

waiting with every sense attuned for the coming of the Messiah.

It is like throwing a surprise party. We park our cars a couple of blocks away, we keep everything in darkness, there is excitement in the air, there is a quiet buzz, laughter, joy, anticipation. Then we hear “ssssh” - the one we are honouring is just approaching, and then we shout SURPRISE. Although it is planned by adults, the ones who have the most joy and excitement are children, even though they do not totally understand the significance of the occasion: be it a 50 birthday or anniversary, or milestone in the person’s life.

2. The mood of the first reading is one of rejoicing. It is like the feeling of people who would be returning from decades in exile, in captivity. Children would have been born in that time. They would never have seen Jerusalem. Now miracles will take place which bring joy to the heart. First there will be new life in the wilderness, as trees and flowers begin to blossom. Then there will be miracles among the people:

the deaf will hear, the dumb will talk.

the blind will see, the lame will walk

yes, there is reason to celebrate, rejoice, bring out the tambourines. This passage from Isaiah is very important, because this is precisely what Jesus will do in his public ministry. Healing will be brought to the deaf and dumb, the blind and lame. This is the good news of the Kingdom of God.

The New Testament took this prophecy in Isaiah 35 and applied as being fulfilled in the Life of Christ. This was a common procedure in the Old Testament, where they saw the unfolding of History as a fulfilment of some text of the prophet. The new Testament continued this practice. Each action of Jesus unfolded a new meaning to previously uttered prophecies. Thus our Salvation story is ever old and ever new. It still unfolds today in the way we as Christians continue to live the Life of Christ in our own lives. But who is this Christ, even John has a problem.

3. John fell into the same trap as we fall into today. We expect God to behave in a certain way, sort out the world problems, do not let evil prosper, reward the good, smile on our efforts to keep the law of God and the Church. Holy and wholesome ideas - but God has a reluctance to fit into envelopes, squares, paradigms we prepare. God always thinks outside the envelope.

God shows up at places we least expect God to be.

God shows up at times which are most inconvenient.

God shows up in dress & in persons that continue to baffle our preconceived ideas.

God although becoming human continues with infinite generosity, not human small mindedness.

From Friedrich Nietzsche who said “God is dead” to our modern day agnostic/atheist all claim that God is only a projection of our imagination and our desires. But our projection should be something great and desirable. We would hardly create a God born “of a virgin”, born in a stable, weak and running for his life from Herod, would we? But that is the contradiction of God. John the Baptist and the Scribes and Pharisees expected

a Messiah who was on fire and charismatic

a messiah who would rid Roman overlords and free the People of Israel

a messiah who would stay away from sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors.

They were only acting like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. It was tradition.

But John and his followers were confused, here was the Rabbi, who claimed to be Messiah, but he preached

a God who forgave sinners, and not hell fire and damnation

a messiah who mixed with the sinner and the outcast

a messiah who broke bread and shared the table - a sign of heaven for those who were blemished.

Jesus does not give John a Yes/No answer as we expect in our modern world. He simply points out to the prophecy of Isaiah which we read in the first reading. John must make up his own mind. You are grown up. You know the scriptures. You must make your choice. You are either for me, or against me.

Today, we expect a caring God

who will not allow Tsunamis and Hurricane Katrinas,

who will not allow children and the innocent to suffer

who will not allow my near and dear ones to suffer from Cancer, Alzheimers, and other crippling diseases.

And God’s reply is “I am a caring God, but I work within human history. You have the choice to work within the Laws of God and nature. If you decide to short circuit the system - with eco pollution, human abuse, injustice and nuclear weapons you are creating your own hell on earth.

If John who was the greatest person born of a woman, - if this John could make mistakes, be confused - then we can gave hope as we plod along. We have the hope and we can rejoice, because the Promise of God in the prophecy of Isaiah is still valid and valuable today. The deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, the weak will have support, the lame will walk - and once again we will see crocuses and live plants in the desert and wilderness that is our own making. God bless you all.