Reflections for 3rd Sunday of Advent A

3rd Sunday of Advent A

Isaiah 35:1-6. 10. Psalm 145:6-10. Rv. Is 35:4. James 5:7-10.

Look, your God is coming; he is coming to save you.

The Lord gives bread to the hungry.

The Lord’s coming will be soon.

Happy the man who does not lose faith in me.

 Matthew 11:2-11

Now John had heard in prison what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him,

3 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?'4 Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what you hear and see; 5 the blind see again, and the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor; 6 and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of falling.' 7 As the men were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John, 'What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? 8 Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. 9 Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: 10 he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. 11 'In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

If only we experience Jesus

John was chained in Herod’s dungeon. There was no escape. His life was over. Jesus had come on to the scene. The crowds were following him. John still had his disciples but the people had more or less forgotten him. He had lived an austere life and preached an austere warning to sinners. The axe had been put to the root of the tree. The winnowing basket was ready. The wheat would be stored in barns and the chaff burnt. John had given way to Jesus but he doubted. The fire and brimstone were absent. He went to the dinners of tax collectors and other outcasts. He was even their friend. Maybe he was not the Messiah after all. John sent two disciples to ask Jesus himself. Jesus does not explain, rather, he points to his life and his works. What do you see and what do you hear? The blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. The expectations of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled.

Jesus sent us to proclaim his Good News to the whole world. But his Good News is not a statement, something that we preach. The Good News is Jesus. Jesus is good news because wherever he goes the blind see again, the lame walk and lepers are cleansed. Today it is what Jesus does in the lives of people which is his witness.

What has Jesus done in your life? Has he entered your life to give you a joy that makes you sing, eyes that make you see your brothers and sisters in a new way, to feel for them and go to them. Are you a living witness to Jesus or do you have to rely on ‘preaching’? The greatest proof that Jesus is the Saviour are those he has saved, his saints who give themselves for others.

Advent is the time when we, the least in the Kingdom of heaven but still greater than John the Baptist, may receive the gift of meeting Jesus. To know Jesus personally and experience his saving acts in our lives is a gift. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has sent to us. Let us pray to the Spirit that we have no doubts about Jesus but that he be our Saviour and Lord, someone we come to know. As the Messiah in my life may he open my eyes, strengthen my legs, let me hear his voice and cleanse me of my leprosy.

Do you want Jesus to be a real Person for you, your Saviour and Lord? Then have no doubts, pray earnestly to meet him. Go in search of him.

Father, give me the gift of meeting Jesus, of experiencing his works and of becoming a witness that Jesus is Lord.