THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

“There is one among you whom you do not recognize”

 (Jn.1, 6-8.19-28)

Rev. Alexander Díaz

We are celebrating the Third Sunday of Advent, it seems the Gospel is the same we heard from Mark’s mouth last week. In reality, it has similar phrases and you can say it has the same meaning, the preparation for the coming of Jesus and the vigilant listening of the voice that invites us to conversion. 

The Liturgy fully announces   us a big period and it seems that today’s world have lost it and it is of great joy.  St Paul invites us and tells us: “be always happy in the Lord”.  Even though is true we are living times of intense tension and even of dejection. 

There is a huge list of  interminable reasons to feel dejected and sadden, the violence does not cease all over the world, the injustice that cover the life of millions of people, the indifference to the Gospel’s Good News by our satisfied society in its own network, the non-support of the poor and weak. 

So, so many reasons for dejection and sadness.  But today, we have a joyful announcement, as done by Isaiah and Paul at one time.  As St. John Crisostomo said: “Real happiness is found in the Lord. All other things apart from being moveable, do not give us so much joy to prevent the sadness caused by other matters.  Hence, the fear of God will produce it inefficient, because when the fear of God is as it should be, even though you fear,  you also trust in Him and this allows you to acquire the fountain of pleasure and the spring of all joy”. 

 The Prophet Isaiah have profoundly reflected about the true plan of God. This will not be manifested in a brilliant way as men expects, rather it will be known thru an “anointed”, who is worried most of all about the poor of this world.  This salvation will be manifested thru the justice and the praise to a Living God.  

The Apostle Saint Paul wrote to the Thessalonians Community.  He invites them to fully live their lives in God, manifested fully in Jesus Christ, the true joy. The assurance of the closeness of the Lord,  should adhere to all your Christian life,  which is define in three aspects:  the confident and peaceful joy, under all circumstances;  the overcoming of all worries and anguish; the prayer of petition and thanksgiving to the God of peace.  

In today’s Sunday gospel there is a particular phrase that caught my attention, when John responds to the question of the Pharisees: “There is one among you, whom you do not recognize”. (Jn.1,6-8)  and it caught my attention because truly, many of us have not yet discovered the joy of His presence among us, that is why we cannot discover the Joy.  

The text begins saying: “A Man emerged”, John is only described as a man, without any qualifications; the text does not mention his social or religious condition. But his mission is emphasized, which was to give testimony of the light, he was not the light but a witness of the light.

We all wish to be disciples of Jesus, we are called to be witnesses as John was, men and women following John’s humbleness, who did not misunderstood his mission, he did not take merits that were not his, he only call out for us to wait and he showed the light of grace on his mission with perseverance.  

The apparition of John in the Jordan and his impact to the town people, made the top leaders, the ones in authority very nervous.  It is very interesting to see that when the prophets spoke and showed divine authority, the powerful ones got nervous and uncomfortable.

That is the reason why the Jews in Jerusalem sent a committee of priests and Levites to ask him:  ¿Who are you?... John answered with a negative response, he is none of the ones they think, he is not what their traditions believed.  He does not speak at any time of speculations, he simply and straightforward repeats: “I am the voice of one crying out in the dessert”   

Saint Agustin said that the” word” can be recognized by the” voice”. The “voice” is the organ thru which we recognize the word.  The voice, without words is a sound that bothers the ears.  The Lord is the “word” and John is the voice that announces the Lord. John knows very well who Jesus is and he proclaims Him in the dessert.  John is an instrument that God uses to let other know Jesus. 

John  conceived Jesus in his heart, and his mouth spoke of Him.  We all are and should be the voice of the Lord.  We must talk about Jesus, especially now, during the Christmas season.  John is the voice that cries in the dessert and it is fruitful, even though it was not what they were awaiting for, because the voice was not heard as it should have been.  In many occasions we too, have the feeling, the impression of preaching in the dessert. 

The parents who have raised their children as Christians now they see these children not going to church or practicing their faith, they do not want to hear about God, they feel disappointed, guilty and with a feeling of anguish.  ¿Have we preached in the dessert?  No, no, it is not so. All labor, all effort is fruitful, even though many times we don’t see it immediately, but rather, later on in time.  One of the sins of omission, is not to talk about Jesus.

In this season of Advent, we have to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus with joy on Christmas Day.   Saint Agustin said that John cried out so Jesus may come into our hearts, but He will not come unless we “set straight the way of the Lord”. To set straight the way of the Lord is to be always joyful, happy. Saint Paul said: “Rejoice always in the Lord, I repeat, rejoice always”. 

When we talk about joyfully preparing the Christmas feast, we should do it solemnly, with a joyful spirit.  We want to make reference to the happiness that instills itself in our spirit, there, in the place where this joy encounters the communion with the Spirit of God and is shaken by Him.  It is not to close our eyes to the reality, but instead,  to abandon ourselves in the arms of the Lord.

Amen!!