MESSAGE TO JOHN - 3rd Sunday of Advent (Cycle A)

Homily for the 3^rd Sunday of Advent (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 11:2-11 (Gospel), Is 35:1-6a, 10 (First Reading) and Jas 5:7-10 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

MESSAGE TO JOHN

“Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Mt 11:4)

The Gospel reading for this 3^rd Sunday of Advent (Cycle A) is  taken from Mt 11:2-11.

Verse 2 says: Now John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples^b to ask  him… Footnote ^b  says “Var. ‘two of his disciples’.”

Parallel text is Lk 7:18-28 that says:  The disciples of John gave him all this news, and John, summoning two of his disciples (v. 18), sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else? (v. 19)’ When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else? (v. 20).’ It was just then that he cured  many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who are blind (v. 21).  Then he gave the messengers their answer,  ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor (v. 22), and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me’ (v. 23). When John’s messengers had gone he began to talk to the people about John (v. 24), ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No?  Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Oh no,  those who go in for fine clothes and live luxuriously are to be found at court (v. 25)!  Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet (v. 26): he is the one whom scripture says: See, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare the way before you. I tell you, of all the children born of women, there is no greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is.

Verse 3 says: “Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?”^c Footnote ^c  says “John the Baptist is not expressing complete doubt about Jesus, but he is surprised to find that he is very different sort of Messiah from what he had expected, cf. 3:10-12.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Dt 18:15 - Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like myself, from among yourselves, from your won brothers; to him you must listen.

2.       Jn 1:21  - ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’^t ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you the prophet?’^u  Footnote  ^t  says “On the expected return of Elijah, see Ml. 3:23-24 and Mt. 17:10-13”; and Footnote ^u  says “From Dt. 18;15,18(see note) the Jews argued that the expected Messiah would be another Moses (the prophet par excellence, cf. Nb. 12:7+) who would repeat on a grand scale the prodigies of the Exodus. Cf. Jn. 3:14; 6:14, 30-31, 68; 7:40,52; 13:1+; Ac. 3:22-23; 7:20-44; Heb. 3:1-11. See also Mt.  16:14+.”

Verses 4 and 5 say: Jesus answered, “Go back 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 the poor; ^d Footnote ^d says “This allusion to the oracles of Is assures John that the messianic era is being inaugurated, even though Jesus confines himself to beneficent and saving miracles, without resorting to violence and retribution. Cf. Lk 4:17-21.”

Parallel texts for verse 4 are:

1.       Mt 8:3 - Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’  And his leprosy was cured at once.^a Footnote ^a  says “By his miracle Jesus his power over nature (8:23-27; 14:22-33p),  especially over sickness (8:1-4,5-13, 14-15; 9:1-8, 20-22, 27-31; 14:14,36; 15:30; 20:29-34 and p; Mk. 7:32-37; 8:22-26; Lk. 14:1-6; 17:11-19; Jn. 5:1-16; 9:1-41), over death ( Mt 9:23-26p ;Lk7:11:19; Jn 11: 1-44), over devils (Mt 8:29+). Christ miracles are not elaborate: in this they differ from the fantastic prodigies reported of the Hellenistic world of from those attributed to the Jewish rabbis, but they are most notably different by reason of the spiritual and symbolic significance that Jesus attaches to them. They declare the judgments of the messianic age (21:18-22p) as also privileges  it brings (11:5+;14:13-21;15:32 -39p; Lk 5:4-11; Jn 2:1-11 ; 21:4-14); they are the first signs of the triumph of the spirits over Satan’s empire (8:29+) and over all the powers  of evil whether  sin passion (20:34; Mk 1:41; Lk 7:13) butt  they are directed principally to the Strengthening of faith (8:10+; Jn 2;11+). This it is only with great deliberation that Jesus works any miracles at all, demanding secrecy for any he does agree to work (Mk 1:34+), and leaving it for force decision (12:39-40). When he sent his apostles to preach the kingdom he gave his own healing power (10:1,8p) and for this reason Matthew recounts before the missionary Discourse (ch. 10) a series of ten miracles (ch. 8-9 as sign accrediting the missionary (Mk 16:17f; Ac 2:22;cf. 1-8+).”

2.       Is 26:19 - Your dead will come to life, their^e corpses will rise; awake, exult, all you who lie in the dust, for your^f dew is a radiant dew and the land of ghosts will give birth.^g  Footnote ^e  says “‘their’ Syr., Targ.; ‘my’ Hebr.”;  Footnote ^f  says “‘your’ singular.”; and Footnote ^g  says “A prophecy of resurrection ( 2 M 7:9+) according to some, of Israel’s national revival (cf. Ezk 37) according to others.”

3.       Is 29:18f  - The deaf, that day, will hear the words of a book and, after shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.

4.       Is 35:5f  - The eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed…

5.       Is 61:1 - The mission of the prophet^a  The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken. Footnote ^a  says “This poem may have originally formed part of the collection, ch. 60-62, or may have been added by a disciple. “

Verse 6 says: ‘…and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me’.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 13:57 - And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house.’

2.       Jn 6:61 - Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you?

Verses 7 and 8 say: As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in  palaces.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 3:1, 5-6 - In due course^a John the Baptist appeared; he preached in the wilderness of Judaea and this was his message (v. 1).  Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him (v. 5), and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.^d (v. 6). Footnote ^a says “Lit. ‘in those days’. Stereotyped expression, merely a formula of transition.”; Footnote ^d  says “The rite of immersion, symbolic of purification or of renewal, was familiar to the ancient religions and to Judaism (baptism though suggested by these practices is distinct from them for three main reasons; it is directed to moral, not  ritual, purification (3:2,6,8,11; Lk 3:10-14); it takes place one only and for this reason appears  as a  ceremony of initiation; it has an eschatological value in so far as it enrolls its recipients among the number of those who professedly and actively prepare themselves  for the imminent coming of the Messiah and who are, therefore, the messianic community in anticipation (3:2,11; Jn 1:19-34). It produces a real effect upon the soul but this effect is not produced sacramentally since it depends on something that has not yet taken place: this future event is God’s Judgment embodied in the coming Messiah whose ‘fire’; will purify or consume according to the good or bad dispositions it meets with; he alone, and not John. Will baptize ‘in the Holy Spirit’ (3:7,10-12). John’s baptism continued to be continued to be administered by the disciples of Jesus (Jn 4:11-2)until it was absorbed by the new rite which he had instituted (Mt 28:19:Ac 1:5+: Rm 6:4+).”

2.       Jn 5:33 - You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth:

Verse 9 says: Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 16:14 - And they said, “Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets…

2.       Lk 1:76-79 - And you, little child, you shall be called Prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord^dd to prepare the way for him (v. 76). To give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins (v. 77); this by the tender mercy^ee of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun^ff to visit us (v. 78), to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace (v. 79).  Footnote ^dd  says “i.e. God, as in 1:16-17, not the Messiah. “; Footnote ^ee  says  “‘tender mercy’, lit. ‘bowels of mercy’, ‘will bring’; var. ‘has brought’.”; and  Footnote ^ff  says “I.e. either the messianic era of the Messiah himself.”

Verses 10 and 11 say:  This is the one of whom scriptures says: ‘Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.^e Footnote ^e  says “Simply because he is a member of the kingdom, whereas John, as the Precursor, remains at its gates. The sentence contrasts epochs rather than persons: the era of the kingdom immeasurably transcends that which preceded and prepared for it.”

Parallel text is Ml 3:1 that says: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me.^a And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter the Temple: and the angel of the covenant^b whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Footnote ^a  says “The precursor of Yahweh, already spoken of in Is. 40:3, will be identified with Elijah, Ml. 3:23. Mt. 11:10 applies text to John the Baptist, the new Elijah, Mt. 11:14.”; and Footnote ^b says “The angel of the New Covenant is not the precursor spoken of above, since his arrival at the Temple is simultaneous with that of Yahweh. It is probably an enigmatic designation of Yahweh himself, derived from Ex. 3:2; 23:20, cf. Gn. 16:7+. Mt. 11:10 implies its implication to Jesus.”

The First Reading is from Is 35:1-6a, 10.  Verse 1 says: Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult; let the wasteland rejoice and bloom;

Parallel text is Is 41:19 that says: In the wilderness I will put cedar trees, acacias, myrtles, olives. In the desert, I will plant juniper, plane tree and cypress side by side.

Verse 2 says: Let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon will bestowed on it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of Yahweh, the splendor of our God.

Parallel text is Is 60:13 that says: The glory of Lebanon^g will come to you, with cypress and plane and box, to adorn the site of my sanctuary, to glorify the resting place of my feet. Footnote  ^g  says “The cedars. These will be used to build the new Jerusalem as previously they had been used to build the Temple of Solomon, 1 K 5:15f.”

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Verse 3 says: Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees…

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 40:29-31 - He gives strength to the wearied, he strengthens the powerless. Young men may grow tired and weary, youths may stumble, but those who hope in Yahweh renew their strength, they put out wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary, walk and never tire.

2.       Heb 12:2 - Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right hand of God’s throne.

Verse 4 says: and say to the faint hearts, ‘Courage! do not be afraid.  Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is  coming to save you.’

Parallel text is  Is 40:10 that says: Here is the Lord Yahweh coming with power,^I his arm subduing all things to him. The price of his victory is with him, his trophies all go before him.

Verse 5 says: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed,

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 11:5 - 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 the poor;^d Footnote ^d  says “This allusion to the oracles of Is assures John that the messianic era is being inaugurated, even though Jesus confines himself to beneficent and saving miracles, without resorting to violence and retribution. Cf. Lk 4:17-21.”

2.       Lk 7:22 - Then he gave the messengers their answer,  ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor

Verse 6a says:  Then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy;

Parallel text is Ac 3:8 that says: He jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising God.

Verse 10 says: For those Yahweh has ransomed shall return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them, sorrow and lament will be ended.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 25:8…he will destroy Death forever. The Lord Yahweh will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will away his people  shame everywhere on earth; for Yahweh had said so.

2.       Is 51:11 - Those whom Yahweh has ransomed return, the come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy in their faces; joy and gladness go with them, sorrow and lament are ended.^f  Footnote ^f  says “This song of deliverance, interrupted by two short passages, resumes as v. 17.”

3.       Ps 126 - Song of the returning exiles^a. When Yahweh brought Zion’s captives home, at first it seemed like a dream (v. 1); then our mouths filled with laughter and our lips with song. Even the pagans started talking about the marvels Yahweh had done for us (v. 2)! What marvels indeed he did for us, and how overjoyed we were (v. 3)! Yahweh will bring all our captives back again like torrents in the Negeb (v. 4)!^b Those who went sowing in tears now sing as they reap (v. 5). They went away, went away weeping, carrying the seed; they come back, come back singing, carrying the sheaves (v. 6). Footnote ^a  says “For the returned exiles faced with the difficulties of reconstruction (Cf. Ne. 5, etc.), the return from Babylon portends the coming of the messianic age.”; and Footnote ^b says “Which, nearly always dry, cf. Jb 6:15, fill swiftly in winter and fertilize the soil.”

4.       Zc 8:19 - Yahweh Sabaoth says this. The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth are to become gladness and happiness and ays of joyful feasting for the House of Judah.^g But love truth and peace! Footnote ^g  says “The fast of the 5^th and 7^th months, cf. 7:3,5, there are here added those of the 4^th and 10^th which commemorated the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, 2 K 25:1,4, and the beginning of the siege.”

5.       Rv 21:4 - He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death. And no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

The Second Reading is  Jas 5:7-10.  Verse 7 says: Now be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains^c and the spring rains! Footnote ^c  says “‘rains’, var. ‘fruits’.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       1 Co 15:23+ - but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming^f of Christ, those who belong to him. Footnote ^f  says “Parousia (presence), a Greek word adopted by early Christians to indicate the glorious coming of Christ on his ‘day’, 1 Xo 1:8+, at the end of time, Mt 24:3+; cf. also 1 Th 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:32; 2 Th 2:1; Jm 5:7,8; 2 P 1:16+; 3:4, 12; 1 Jn 2:28. In 2 Th 2:8,9 the same word is used to indicate the coming of the Lawless One. Cf the similar terms ‘revelation’, 1 Co 1:7+, and ‘appearing’, 1 Tm 6:14+.”

2.       1 P 2:19+ - You see, there is some merit^b in putting up with the pains of unearned punishment if it is done for the sake of God. Footnote ^b  says “Add ‘in the sight of God’.”

3.       Dt 11:14 - I^b will give your land rain in season, autumn rain and spring, so that you may harvest your corn, your wine, your oil. Footnote ^b  says “Here it is God speaking; the transition is abrupt.”

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Verse 8 says:  You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 24:33p  - So with you when you see these things: know that he^s is near, at the very gates… Footnote ^s  says “The Son of Man coming to establish his kingdom.”

2.       Rm 2:6+ - He will repay each one as his works deserves^b : Footnote ^b  says “The prophecy of a ‘day of Yahweh’ which will be a day of anger and salvation, Am 5:18+, will be fulfilled eschatologically in the ‘day of the Lord’, when Christ returns in glory, 1 Co 1:8+. On this ‘day of judgment’ (cf. Mt 10:15; 11:22,24; 12:36, 1 P 2:9; 3:7; 1 Jn 4:17) the dead will rise again, 1 Th 4:13-18; 1 Co 15:12-23,51f, and the whole human race will be judged in God’s court, Rm 14:10, and in Christ’s, 2 Co 5:10; cf. Mt 25:31f. This trial is inescapable, Rm 2:3; Ga 5:10; 1 Th 5:3, and impartial, v. 11; Col 3:25; cf. 1 P 1:17; it is conducted by God, Rm 12:19; 14:10; 1 Co 4:5; cf. Mt 7:1p. Through Christ, v. 16; 2 Tm 4:1; cf. Jn 5:22; Ac 17:31, God will judge ‘the living and the dead’, 2 Tm 4:1; cf. Ac 10:2\42; 1 P 4:5. He examines the heart, v. 16;1 Co 4:5; cf. Rv 2:23, and his trial is by fire, 1 Co 3:13-15; he will treat everyone according to his works, 1 Co 3:8; 2 Co 5:10; 11:15; Ep 6:8; cf. Mt 16:27; 1 P 1:17; Rv 2:23, 20:12; 22:12. What has been sown will be reaped, Ga. 6:7-9; cf. Mt 13:39; Rv 14:15. Angrily he will destroy, Rm 9:22, evil powers, 1 Co 15:24-26; 2 Th 2:8, and evil people, 2 Th 1:7-10; cf. Mt 13:41; Ep 5:6; 2 P 3:7; Rv 6:17; 11:18. But for the chosen, i.e. those who have done good, there will be freedom, Ep 4:30; cf. Rm 8:23, rest, Ac 3:20; cf 1 Th 1:7; Heb 4:5-11, reward, cf. Mt 5:12; Rv 11:18, salvation, 1 P 1:5, honor, 1 P 5:6, praise, 1 Co 4:5, and glory, Rm 8:18f; 1 Co 15:43; Col 3:4; cf. Mt 13:43.”

3.       2 Co 6:2 - For he says: At a favorable time, I have listened to you, on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favorable time; this is the day of salvation.^a Footnote ^a  says “There is an intermediary period, Rm. 13:11+, between the time of Christ’s coming, Rm. 3:26+, and his return, 1 Co. 1:8+. This period is the day of salvation’, the time allowed for conversion, Ac. 3:20f; it is granted to the ‘remnant,’ Rm. 11:5, and to the pagans, Rm. 11:25; Ep. 2:12f; cf. 2 Co. 8:14; Lk. 21:24. Though the duration is uncertain, 1 Th. 5:1+, this time of pilgrimage must be regarded as being short, 1 P. 1:17; 1 Co. 7:26-31; cf. Rv. 10:16; 12:12; 20:3, and full of trials, Ep. 5:16; 6:13, and sufferings which are a prelude to the glory to come, Rm. 8:11. The end is at hand, 1 P. 4:7; cf. Rv. 1:3+ and 1 Co. 16:22; Ph. 4:5, Jm. 5:8, the day approaches, Rm. 13:11, and it is necessary to be on the watch, 1 Th. 5:6; cf. Mk. 13:33, and to use the time well that remains, Col. 4:5; Ep. 5:16, for one’s own salvation and that of others, Ga. 6:10, leaving the final vindication to God, Rm. 12:19; 1 Co. 4:5.”

4.       Rv 1:3 - Happy^e the man who reads this prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, if they treasure all that it says, because the Time^f is close. Footnote ^e says “First of the seven beatitudes of the Apocalypse, cf. 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,14.”; and Footnote  ^f  says “When Jesus returns; cf. 3:11; 22:10,12, 20 and 1:7.”

Verses 9 and 10 say: Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not be brought to judgment yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Parallel text for verse 10 is Mt 5:11-12p that says: Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account (v. 11). Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.^e Footnote ^e  says “Christ’s disciples are the successors of the prophets, cf. 10:41; 13:17; 23:34.”