DECEMBER 11, 2022 - 3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
GOD HIMSELF WILL COME TO SAVE US
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last Sunday we dwelled on John the Baptist and his message of readiness for the coming of the Lord through repentance. This Sunday's theme is - what will happen when the Lord comes. What will he do? He will redeem us. That's what will happen. God himself will come to save us. This is the reason for our joy and our hope. No wonder this Sunday is referred to as Rejoice Sunday, Gaudete Sunday. The opening antiphon of today's Mass put it eloquently: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. The Lord is near.”
How is the Lord going to save us? The First reading speaks of what will happen when the Messiah comes: "The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song." (Isaiah 35:1). How can this be? It is to say that what was dead will come back to life. Some of you know what a desert is like. It is a dry, lifeless place. For it to rejoice and bloom with abundant flowers means that something beyond the ordinary has happened. This can happen because God is Almighty.
As I write this homily, my faith that God will make the desert teem with life is being tested. Benedicta, my youngest sister, the pillar of our family died. She was the main care-giver of my mother. How is the hope that our God will come to save us be realized? It dawned on me that God brings salvation that goes beyond this life. For if our hope is limited only to this life then we are most pitiable of all people.
So, what shall we do when the hurts, pains and sorrows of this life strike? Examples of such situations abound, when a young mother gets cancer, when a child is born with autism or when a loved one dies, like my sister BENEDICTA did. In times like that it may seem that our world has suddenly ended. In such a moment we must look to Jesus. Today’s gospel gives a classical example. John was a cousin and precursor of Jesus. He spent his life doing God's work, announcing the coming of our Lord. Suddenly in the prime of life he was taken away and incarcerated by Herod. What did he do? He spoke out against evil. He told Herod that it was not right for him to take his brother's wife while his brother was still alive. While in prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask! "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"( Matthew 11:4). To which our Lord replied:"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." ( Matthew 11:5). Then comes the climax, Jesus said, "And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me." (Matthew 11:6).
What do you think might be going on in John's mind while he was shut up in a dark dungeon because he spoke out for God and truth. He could have been sorrowful; he could have wept. If you were in John's shoes, how would you take our Lord's reply? Some of us might say, thank you Lord for doing all those mighty things in the life of other people but do not forget me." Sometimes, our situations feel like John's who did not come out of the prison alive. He was beheaded at the order of Herodias.
How can we make sense of what happened to him? It goes back to the message that the trials of this life will come and go but God's salvation is forever. The dead will be raised. Though John's life on earth ended abruptly, God gave him eternal life in heaven. John is a canonized saint. In God's plan of salvation, death in this life does not have the last word. If you do not see things from this perspective, you might be tempted to take offense at the Lord. Sometimes, people might get mad at God because a calamity struck. But it is important to remember that this world is not all that we have. We do not have a lasting city here. The salvation, which the Messiah brings, is beyond this life. Blessed is the one who takes no offense at God." (Matthew 11:6). As my eyes stream with tears at the death of my sister, I know that God loves her more than I can ever love her. The reason for our joy is that God's salvation can never be overpowered by darkness, distress and sorrows of this life.
In the face of life's puzzles and paradoxes, the Word of God says, "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you." (Isaiah 35:3-4).
GOD HIMSELF WILL COME TO SAVE US
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last Sunday we dwelled on John the Baptist and his message of readiness for the coming of the Lord through repentance. This Sunday's theme is - what will happen when the Lord comes. What will he do? He will redeem us. That's what will happen. God himself will come to save us. This is the reason for our joy and our hope. No wonder this Sunday is referred to as Rejoice Sunday, Gaudete Sunday. The opening antiphon of today's Mass put it eloquently: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. The Lord is near.”
How is the Lord going to save us? The First reading speaks of what will happen when the Messiah comes: "The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song." (Isaiah 35:1). How can this be? It is to say that what was dead will come back to life. Some of you know what a desert is like. It is a dry, lifeless place. For it to rejoice and bloom with abundant flowers means that something beyond the ordinary has happened. This can happen because God is Almighty.
As I write this homily, my faith that God will make the desert teem with life is being tested. Benedicta, my youngest sister, the pillar of our family died. She was the main care-giver of my mother. How is the hope that our God will come to save us be realized? It dawned on me that God brings salvation that goes beyond this life. For if our hope is limited only to this life then we are most pitiable of all people.
So, what shall we do when the hurts, pains and sorrows of this life strike? Examples of such situations abound, when a young mother gets cancer, when a child is born with autism or when a loved one dies, like my sister BENEDICTA did. In times like that it may seem that our world has suddenly ended. In such a moment we must look to Jesus. Today’s gospel gives a classical example. John was a cousin and precursor of Jesus. He spent his life doing God's work, announcing the coming of our Lord. Suddenly in the prime of life he was taken away and incarcerated by Herod. What did he do? He spoke out against evil. He told Herod that it was not right for him to take his brother's wife while his brother was still alive. While in prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask! "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"( Matthew 11:4). To which our Lord replied:"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." ( Matthew 11:5). Then comes the climax, Jesus said, "And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me." (Matthew 11:6).
What do you think might be going on in John's mind while he was shut up in a dark dungeon because he spoke out for God and truth. He could have been sorrowful; he could have wept. If you were in John's shoes, how would you take our Lord's reply? Some of us might say, thank you Lord for doing all those mighty things in the life of other people but do not forget me." Sometimes, our situations feel like John's who did not come out of the prison alive. He was beheaded at the order of Herodias.
How can we make sense of what happened to him? It goes back to the message that the trials of this life will come and go but God's salvation is forever. The dead will be raised. Though John's life on earth ended abruptly, God gave him eternal life in heaven. John is a canonized saint. In God's plan of salvation, death in this life does not have the last word. If you do not see things from this perspective, you might be tempted to take offense at the Lord. Sometimes, people might get mad at God because a calamity struck. But it is important to remember that this world is not all that we have. We do not have a lasting city here. The salvation, which the Messiah brings, is beyond this life. Blessed is the one who takes no offense at God." (Matthew 11:6). As my eyes stream with tears at the death of my sister, I know that God loves her more than I can ever love her. The reason for our joy is that God's salvation can never be overpowered by darkness, distress and sorrows of this life.
In the face of life's puzzles and paradoxes, the Word of God says, "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you." (Isaiah 35:3-4).
