A reading from the prophet Isaiah (35:1-6,10)
Let the desert and the arid lands be glad,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom;
let it burst into flower like the crocus,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to the faint-hearted,
‘Be strong! Do not be afraid.
Here is your God,
vengeance is coming, divine retribution;
he is coming to save you.’
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame will leap like a deer
and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy;
for water will burst forth in the desert
and streams in arid lands,
Those ransomed by the Lord shall return
and come to Zion shouting for joy,
crowned with joy unending;
rejoicing and gladness will escort them
and sorrow and sighing will take flight.
On this third Sunday of Advent the joyful tone is taken up by these verses from the prophet Isaiah. The final verse even speaks of ‘joy unending’ (simhat ‘olam). A journey back to Sion is described, in which ‘God is coming to save you.’ The ‘glory’ (kabod) of God and God’s ‘splendour’ (hadar) are to be seen, a reason for courage and strength. Various human disabilities are healed: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the dumb sing. The created environment is renewed as water bursts out in the desert. The ‘ransomed’ will return to the holy city, amid bursts of rejoicing, while ‘sorrow and sighing will take flight’.
Psalm 146 (145) The Lord ‘keeps faith’, and can be relied upon to save the oppressed, the stranger, the widow and the orphan.
A reading from the letter of St James (5:7-10)
Now be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how a farmer waits patiently for the precious fruit of the earth until it receives the autumn rain and the spring rain. You too must be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming is near. Do not make complaints against one another, brothers and sisters, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; see, the judge is standing at the gates. For your example of patience in persecution take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.
The Advent theme of the Lord’s coming (parousia) is found again in the letter of James, a New Testament book which is akin to the wisdom writings of the Hebrew scriptures. He echoes the teaching of Jesus about the Lord’s coming (Mark 13), and stresses above all the need to ‘be patient’ (makrothumein), by imitating the farmer who awaits good fruit from his land. James also offers the example of ‘patience in persecution’ of the prophets.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (11:2-11)
Now John had heard in prison what the Messiah was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?’ Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor; and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of stumbling.’ 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? Then what did you go out to see? Someone wearing fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in royal palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one of whom it is written:
Look, I am going to send my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way before you.
‘Amen I say to you, of the children born to women, none has been raised up greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.’
A further gospel about John the Baptist is taken from the time of his imprisonment by Herod the tetrarch. The response given by Jesus to the question John is asking points to his healings. It ends with the interesting words: ‘blessed is the one who does not find in me a cause of stumbling (skandalizein)’. It seems that John is troubled for he may have expected a more challenging style from Jesus. In Matthew 3:12 John talks about the Messiah ‘burning chaff’. But Jesus shows a merciful outreach to those in need, and ‘the good news is proclaimed to the poor’. If this may seem like a veiled rebuke from Jesus, it is followed immediately by words about John’s greatness: he is ‘greater than a prophet’ and no child born of women is greater than he, though ‘the least in the kingdom’ is greater still.
Can you see beyond the apparent contradiction in Jesus’ final words?
John the Baptist, like all of us, has to learn the lesson of mercy.