THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT:

1. Our Gospel starts with a dramatic scene. John the Baptist and the Priests and Levites from Jerusalem. This is not a hostile group. They are genuine interest. They have been expecting the Messiah. And so they ask John

• Are you the Messiah?
• Are you  Elijah?
• Are you one of the prophets?
• To all three, the answer is in the negative. They probe a little more. They get an answer but they cannot understand it.

I baptize with water. They could understand that part. In fact many of them had come, confessed that they were sinners and were baptised in the Jordan by John. He was considered by all to be a good man. But John tells them he is the herald, a sort of town-crier proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, who will baptise them with the Spirit. Now that is beyond their comprehension.

They should have understood that since the coming of the Messiah was proclaimed by Isaiah in more than one place. “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me.”  The Messiah would be the Anointed one, the Christ. The signs in today’s first reading do not contain any physical healings. They are more psychological in nature.  The healings would be of those who are broken hearted. The healings would be those who were prisoners – of scruples, of depression of discouragement, of nervous breakdowns.

2. The irony of this picture is seen in a parallel story in Matthew’s Gospel Ch. 11. John has been imprisoned by Herod. John now sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him the same question that the priests and Levites have been asking in the Gospel today. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Christ?

Jesus however does not give a direct answer, go and tell John – and Jesus quotes the passage from Isaiah which refers to the definite signs of the Messiah’s presence. This time the healings are physical:

• The blind will see
• The lame will walk
• The lepers are cleansed
• The deaf will hear.
• The poor will have the good news proclaimed to them.

This good news is the reason why Paul will tell the people of Thessalonica to rejoice. Rejoice always because this is the will of Jesus Christ. We rejoice on this Third Sunday of Advent, because the Lord is near. Each year we remember and rejoice at the three comings of Christ.

• We remember his coming in History, 2000 years ago.
• We await his second coming in hope knowing that since he gave his life to save us, he will also be our Advocate in the End time, the eschatological coming.
• Finally, we await his coming in Mystery: Christ comes to us in every event of our life that unfolds – showing us as Psalm 139 tells us – that God is with us all the time: “when we sit and when we stand, in our thoughts even before we express them in word, in all our travels and when we rest”.

However this Nearness of the Lord is a two edged sword. We can rejoice in the Security that the “Nearness of Lord” gives us. But it also challenges us to witness to that relationship with Lord to those around us. The Nearness of Lord to us must reflect in the way “we act and move and have our being” as Paul would tell us.

Story one: Romel and Wilbur were two eight year olds that were constantly in trouble. They would steal the toilet paper and leave people embarrassed. They would rearrange chairs so that you did not know which direction you had to face in class, they even hid the sheep in the manger scene at Christmas, so the shepherds had no sheep. So the principal sent them over to the Parish Priest who was a stern person who could put the fear of God into any person. The Parish Priest would always start with, “Where is God?” and when you answered God is everywhere, the Priest would then say, If God is everywhere, then why do you sin, or create trouble, or whatever you did wrong.

As soon, as Romel appeared, the Parish Priest thundered, Where is God? Romel took off as if his pants were on fire. He ran into his buddy in crime, and said, Head for the hills. God is missing, and the priest thinks we are responsible for that.

If Christ is near, and people find that Christ, the Son of God is missing in their lives – then you and I have answering to do.

The Priests and Levites asked the question of John “Are you the Messiah?”

John’s Disciples asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah? Or should we wait for another?”

People today come to us and ask, “Are you a Christian? (anointed at baptism) or are we to wait for another?

It is hard not to be caught up in the Christmas Spirit even though it is the season of Advent. We might not sing Christmas Carol’s in the Church, but we hear it in the Malls, on the radio, in our choir practices. We hear off Frosty the snowman when it is 30 degrees Celsius outside and we are fanning our selves in this heat. Our challenge is make people see the same signs that Isaiah described.

The lame walk: how many people have we brought to church in our cars this week. The deaf hear – how many times have we closed our ears to cries for help, the loneliness in the voice of the elderly, the widow or widower, the voice of a little child. The poor have the good news proclaimed to them: we can look at our lives and see whether we bring joy and comfort, hope and optimism to those we rub shoulders with in the supermarket, the bank, the grocery stores, and on the internet. The third coming of Christ as our daily lives unfold will always be asking the question the Priests and Levites asked of John, “Are you the anointed one, the Christ, the Christian” – or should we wait for another.

Story Two:  A certain monastery was known for its lively Christian Attitude. They were full of hope and joy. People would come from far and wide to visit, to pray, to  make retreats, to seek advice. Then things began to get sour.

John the cook was hurt because the Librarian criticized him.

James the librarian was short tempered, because he could not get money from the treasurer.

George the treasurer thought that poverty meant being tight fisted.

Philip the gardener felt his work was not appreciated.

Sarcasm, cold shoulders, and silent treatment of one another became the standard fare. People noticed it, and gradually stopped coming to the monastery. The Abbot was in despair. Then an old Rabbi came and pitched his tent across the monastery. He had been working hard, and he came for some rest and relaxation. The Abbot approached him with his problem: this community which is entrusted to my care is falling apart. The Rabbi asked him to pray, and to return in a couple of days. When the Abbott returned the Rabbi said, we Jews and Christians are the same. The difference is that we are waiting for the first coming of the Messiah and you are waiting for his second coming. Well, I have been told that the Messiah has arrived and he is one of the monks in your community. The abbot returned and told his community the news.

Each one looked at the others, asked himself: Who is the Messiah?  The cook said to himself it definitely cannot be the librarian but I cannot take a chance. And each one said the same to himself. The cook made tastier meals, the treasurer was more open handed with the funds. He also noticed the more you gave, the more you got in return, the gardener became creative in his arrangements. In a word there was a new found respect, love and honour of each other. It became contagious, people noticed, and once again the Monastery was buzzing with activity.  The Abbot went to thank the Rabbi, but he had vanished!  Are you the Messiah in our Parish Community?