The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our role to make Jesus Way visible to those we encounter on our journey.
Making the Kingdom visible
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah proclaims the Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
* [41:14] Redeemer: in Hebrew, go’el, one who frees others from slavery and avenges their sufferings; cf. Lv 25:48; Dt 19:6, 12. Cf. note on Ru 2:20.1
Psalm 145 praises the greatness and the goodness of God.
* [Psalm 145] A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ testimony to John recalls the Prophet Elijah who is to come.
* [11:11] John’s preeminent greatness lies in his function of announcing the imminence of the kingdom (Mt 3:1). But to be in the kingdom is so great a privilege that the least who has it is greater than the Baptist.3
Ann Mausbach comments that when Jesus enters the scene John steps aside. He understands that Jesus is the true prophet. He has the humility to understand that all the preaching, baptizing, traveling around the country wasn’t about him, it was about Jesus. He helped to pave the way for Jesus’ message to be heard.
Thus, I wanna be like John. I want to be humble enough to listen to God’s voice. I want to be like John and get out of my own way and let Jesus work His wonder in my life. I want to be like John and spread light and goodness in this world. I wanna be like John. As we pray throughout this Advent season let’s play ball like John the Baptist. In doing so we will be preparing ourselves to receive our most precious gift, Jesus the Savior.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Kingdom of Heaven,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"What violence (Matthew 11:12)? People did not believe in John the Baptist. The works of Christ were held to be of no importance. His torment on the cross was a stumbling block. 'Until now' prophecy has been dormant. But now the law is fulfilled. Every prediction is finished. The spirit of Elijah is sent in advance through John's words. Christ is proclaimed to some and acknowledged by others. He is born for some and loved by others. The violent irony is that his own people rejected him, while strangers accepted him. His own people speak ill of him, while his enemies embrace him. The act of adoption offers an inheritance, while the family rejects it. Sons refuse to accept their father's last will, while the slaves of the household receive it. This is what is meant by the phrase 'the kingdom of heaven suffers violence' (Matthew 11:12). Earlier expectations are being torn apart. The glory that was pledged to Israel by the patriarchs, which was announced by the prophets and which was offered by Christ, is now being seized and carried off by the Gentiles, through their faith." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 11.7)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 41:13-20 notes that this message is for us as well. God will help us overcome our challenges as we journey toward him.
Think about a challenge you are facing. What help do you most need today? You may see obstacles that lie in your way. But know that your loving and powerful God will help you. He will walk with you. Sometimes he crushes a “mountain” that prompts you to overcome the obstacle of a negative pattern of behavior—along with a renewed trust in God’s grace to help you. He might cause a “spring” to well up from dry ground with a comforting sense of his love and presence that heals some inner hurt and helps you take steps to mend a wounded relationship. He could make you fruitful like a “verdant tree” by prompting you to help a friend in need or moving you to become more involved in a parish outreach.6
Friar Jude Winkler points out the intimate us of the pronoun “I” in the text from Isaiah. Violence in the proclamation of the Kingdom by John may have been in his message and in his suffering. Friar Jude suggests the Scripture connects Elijah more to John the Baptist than Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Professor and Episcopal priest Vincent Pizzuto who writes about how being engaged in some form of contemplative practice, we are more able to bring Christ into the world. By emptying ourselves, we are more able to embody God’s presence for others.
We pray not that we might become mystics but that we might become ever more authentic Christians who embody the love of Christ in the world. John of the Cross [1542–1591] takes up the analogy of a smudgy window to make the connection between deification [becoming more like God] and contemplative discipleship. A smudgy window, he says, is less able to transmit the sunlight shining through it. The more cleaned and polished the window, the more identical it appears with the rays of sunshine. While the nature of the window is distinct from the sun’s ray, a clean window better participates in the ray of sunlight that passes through it. As one progresses in the spiritual life it is as if the window all but disappears, allowing the Christ light to shine through it without hindrance. [1] . . . It is not mystical experience we are after but radical interior transformation, so that others may experience Christ more fully in us. [2]7
The One who takes our part is calling us to be transformed into witnesses for the Kingdom.
References
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