3rd Sunday of Advent B

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT B

Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.

John 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ." So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Third Sunday of Advent B

"Mommy, where did I come from?" Nearly anyone who is parent has heard a question like that at some point of raising children. With trepidation, most who have heard that question struggle to answer it, often with the incorrect assumption that is a question about biology. But many a parent has been surprised, and relieved, when the child’s next comment is "Johnnie came from Ohio. Where did I come from?"

In our gospel today, we learn from where John the Baptist came. A man named John was sent from God [John 1:6]. In that answer about John the Baptist, we find the universal answer about the origin of all of us. John was sent from God. And, through the waters of Baptism, so were we.

As we read on, we find that the reason why John the Baptist was sent is answered too. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him [John 1:7]. John the Baptist came for testimony about Jesus. John came to show the world that Jesus was the light of the world. John came so that, by his living, he might bring others to recognize Jesus and believe in him. And, once again, in that answer about why John the Baptist came, we find the universal answer as to why all of us have been born. Like John the Baptist, we have come for testimony so that, through our words and actions, others may come to know that Jesus Christ is the salvation of the world.

The Jews were glad to find John the Baptist. It had been over 400 years since God had sent a prophet into their midst. And they were so eager for God to send someone to speak to them. They wanted to know the Lord’s will, and so they wanted another prophet to come into their midst, after all those centuries of silence.

So they went out into the desert in masses to meet him, in hopes that he would be a prophet of God, or maybe even the long-awaited Messiah of God. They were eager for his coming. That was why they were out in the desert questioning John the Baptist. That is why they were so patient in waiting. That is why they were willing to sacrifice and make the trek out into the desert. They wanted to hear God speak to them through prophet. Even more so, they wanted to meet the Messiah of God.

I don’t think that most people today would be as eager as the people in our gospel were for the coming of Christ again. Although it has been two thousand years since last he walked the earth, most people aren’t so eager for his coming again – because his coming would mean an end to earthly activity, material pursuits, and personal goals. The long-awaited Messiah would bring an end to this life and give us a new and different eternal life.

But I have digressed. Let me get back to the dialogue in our gospel again. After the gospel informs us of the source of John the Baptist and his purpose in being sent to the people, they ask him for clarification. They know where he came from, and why he came. Now they want to know who he is. They ask John explicitly, Who are you, ... [John 1:19b]? In so doing, they show that they do not understand what he is telling them. When John replies, he points out that, instead of wondering who he is, they should be noticing another among themselves, and asking who He is. John tells them: ... there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, .... John wants them to notice Jesus, not him.

Let us take the amazing words about John the Baptist and apply them to ourselves. If someone asked you, as a Catholic, "Who are you?" what would you say? Would you say something about yourself or about Christ, as did John the Baptist? I think we’d all have difficulty saying who we are as followers of Christ. We can agree with John the Baptist that, we have been sent by God and that our lives are pointing to Christ. In this regard John the Baptist is a very good role model for any Christian – Live in such a way that one can recognize you as a follower of Christ; live so that others see Christ when they see you.

Our gospel stops short in telling us all that John the Baptist said about himself. A little further along in the gospel of John, the Baptist completes his own understanding of who he was and why he lives, in his final speech of the gospel. Speaking of Jesus, he says: He must increase; I must decrease.

John’s statement has two parts. First, John says that what is important about himself is to whom his life is pointing. It is pointing to someone else – Jesus. I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord ..., he says. His second point is that it is less important who he is, but more important who Jesus is. John does not want them to focus on him; he wants them to focus on the one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.

John knew from where he came, and he knew why he came. John wants to live his life so that, when people look at him, they saw Christ instead. That is exactly our own goal as a Christian. As a priest, I want my life to point to Christ. When I speak, I hope that people will hear Christ’s words and not mine. When I act, I hope that people will see Christ acting, and not me. Like John, I say those same words about myself: He must increase; I must decrease.

I pray that, as I grow and mature, I may become more and more like John the Baptist. I pray that, as I take into myself the daily Eucharist and the daily scriptures, eventually I will be entirely filled up with Christ so that I become transparent, and only Christ can be seen in me. Perhaps when that happens, I’ll be able to be lifted up into his arms and be with Christ for ever.

The next time you hear a child ask, "Mommy, where did I come from?", you will now be able to answer. "You came from God. You came so that you might give testimony to Christ. You, my child, are just like John the Baptist. You, dear child, are just like me, and everyone else."

Today, I pray the same for you. May each of us become like the Baptist, living a life that points to Christ with such convincing faith that we become transparent, and that Christ becomes everything in us. May we all be able to say those words from our first reading from Isaiah: The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God [Isaiah 61:1-2a].

May God bless you all, fill you with his love until you overflow and glow with a Christmas presence.