The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to look ahead patiently and expectantly trusting in the Spirit to reveal hope and love in our relationships as we prepare to represent the Incarnation in our lives.
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah is a vision of the return of the Redeemed to Zion.
* [35:1–10] This chapter contains a number of themes similar to those in Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40–55), for example, the blossoming of the wilderness (vv. 1–2; cf. 41:18–19), which is now well-irrigated (v. 7; cf. 43:19–20); sight to the blind (vv. 5–6; cf. 42:7, 16); a highway in the wilderness (v. 8; cf. 41:3); and the return of the redeemed/ransomed to Zion (vv. 9–10; cf. 51:11). Nevertheless, it forms a unit with chap. 34 (see note on 34:1–35:10) and reflects, along with that chapter, themes found in chaps. 1–33. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 35, n.d.)
Psalm 146 is praise for God’s Help
* [Psalm 146] A hymn of someone who has learned there is no other source of strength except the merciful God. Only God, not mortal human beings (Ps 146:3–4), can help vulnerable and oppressed people (Ps 146:5–9). The first of the five hymns that conclude the Psalter. (Psalms, PSALM 146, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of James urges patience in suffering.
* [5:7–11] Those oppressed by the unjust rich are reminded of the need for patience, both in bearing the sufferings of human life (Jas 5:9) and in their expectation of the coming of the Lord. It is then that they will receive their reward (Jas 5:7–8, 10–11; cf. Heb 10:25; 1 Jn 2:18). (James, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs messengers from John the Baptist and praises the Baptist.
* [11:9–10] In common Jewish belief there had been no prophecy in Israel since the last of the Old Testament prophets, Malachi. The coming of a new prophet was eagerly awaited, and Jesus agrees that John was such. Yet he was more than a prophet, for he was the precursor of the one who would bring in the new and final age. The Old Testament quotation is a combination of Mal 3:1; Ex 23:20 with the significant change that the before me of Malachi becomes before you. The messenger now precedes not God, as in the original, but Jesus.
* [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. (Matthew CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that when our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate and entered into this world, people were watching and waiting for him and exceedingly glad to see him. Messengers prepared the way, not only for Mary and Joseph, but for shepherds, wise men, and many others to follow. When our Lord returns again – a subject we have been contemplating in the weeks preceding Advent -- we are instructed to watch and to be ready. We must prepare ourselves for his coming or to meet him if we should die before he returns. Contemplation of this reality helps awaken us from our slumber and apathy, our ignorance and selfishness, our complacency and dullness. It quickens us.
Lord, renew the hope that is within us. Water our dryness. Help us to cast off those things that might keep us from receiving You with joy, those things which blind and enslave us, and which keep us in fear. And bring us together in your Church during this Advent season, so that we may wait patiently together, strengthening and encouraging one another because you are coming to save us. Thanks be to God. (Morse, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “John fulfills Elijah's prophetic ministry,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.
"Jesus knew the mind of John who sent them, for he knew, as God knows, our inner thoughts. There he was, actively healing the blind, lame, and many others. He healed not to teach John, who was already convinced, but those who had come to him doubting. Having healed them he said, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.' And then he added pointedly, 'And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.' By saying this Jesus implied that he knew even his questioners' unuttered thoughts. For if he had said simply 'I am he' this would have fallen short of overcoming their unstated sense of being offended. And it would have given fuel to some Jews who were already saying to him, 'You bear record of yourself' (John 8:13). Hence he answered nothing directly concerning his identity but left them to learn of it from the miracles, freeing what he taught from suspicion and making it plainer. Then Jesus gently chided them for being silently offended in him. He made their case for them, leaving it to their own conscience alone to judge, calling no witness of his reprimand other than they themselves who knew what they had been thinking. For it was of their own inward offense that he was thinking when he said, 'Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.' In this way Christ drew them all the more closely to himself." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 36.2) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 11:2-11 comments that Jesus wasn’t put off by John’s doubts. Quite the opposite, he praised John as the greatest of all those “born of women” (Matthew 11:11). Jesus knew John; he loved him and understood the trial he was enduring. Knowing what John was going through, he treated him with compassion.
You may have doubts. Bring them to Jesus. Ask him to help you recall his work in your life: when you experienced his forgiveness, knew his love, or felt his presence. Let him reassure you that he knows you and loves you. Let him strengthen your faith. As Isaiah proclaims in another prophecy, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). With his love, Jesus can set your doubts to rest and fan your smoldering faith into a blazing fire.
“Jesus, help me to believe in you more and more each day.” (Meditation on Matthew 11:2-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler describes the vision in Deutero-Isaiah of great fertility and protection from danger that would greet the exiles from Babylon on their return to Jerusalem. A theme today, Gaudete Sunday, is to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord. Friar Jude notes the connection of Jesus to the prophecy of Isaiah and the role of the converted Pharisee in the writing about the Kingdom of God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that underneath the religious or belief systems we hold, there are often three possible worldviews: The universe is against us, the universe is for us, or the universe is neutral.
the universe is not against us, nor is it sitting out there indifferent. Somehow, it’s on our side! Reality can be trusted. We don’t need to pull all the right strings or push all the right buttons. Grace is everywhere. It’s good to be here. Life is perhaps difficult, but it is still good and trustworthy at the core.
Until we meet a benevolent God and a benevolent universe, until we realize that the foundation of all is love, we will not be at home in this world. That meeting of God, that understanding experience, cannot be communicated by words. It is a gift given through encounter with Spirit. Its inherent character is best described by three overlapping characteristics: faith, hope, and love. When we experience those virtues, allow them to transform us, and are able pass them on, we are participating in the very life of God. (Rohr, 2022)
We approach the Christmas celebration with many distractions and duties that are in tension with our questions, like John the Baptist, about the role of Jesus in our lives.
References
Isaiah, CHAPTER 35. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/35?1
James, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/james/5?7
Matthew CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB Bible. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?2
Meditation on Matthew 11:2-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/11/552591/
Morse, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/121122.html
Psalms, PSALM 146. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/146?6
Rohr, R. (2022, December 11). Is the Universe on Our Side? — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/is-the-universe-on-our-side-2022-12-11/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec11
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