Sunday December 12th : Third Sunday of Advent Gospel Reflection by Brian Maher OMI
“When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick.”
Matthew 14:13-14
At this beautiful and poignant moment in Jesus’ life we see his closeness to John the Baptist. What Jesus seeks is a time to be alone, to grieve the death of a friend who helped him launch his own Mission and then, humbly, and courageously stepped back saying, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” (John 3.30)
Twice in the four weeks of Advent the gospel asks us to reflect on John the Baptist and his mission to announce to the world the coming of the Messiah, and the ushering in of the Kingdom of God.
So, who was this man and what was it about him that led Jesus to say, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11)
In many ways John and Jesus were unlikely friends. They had radically different personalities, a different method of proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom, and as his mission developed, Jesus’ understanding of himself and his relationship to God moved further and further from the message of John.
John’s focus was on baptism as a sign of repentance for sin, using the River Jordan as his stage, with people coming to him from “Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan.”
He appeared out of the wilderness, his strange appearance, and his dramatic proclamation of baptism for the forgiveness of sin quickly making him popular.
Everything about John screamed, “I have no interest in this world. It is sinful, and the day of reckoning is coming when the Promised One will appear to usher in the Kingdom of God. Repent now, while there is time, or you will “burn in a fire that will never go out.”
It was a stark and uncomfortable message, spoken by an austere and mysterious man who lived in the wilderness, dressed in camel’s hair, ate locusts and wild honey, never drank wine, and did not cut his hair.
Our Gospel today indicates just how uncompromising his message was: There would be no place in the coming Kingdom of God for injustice of any kind.
Anyone wanting to be part of this Kingdom must not cheat, steal of extort from anyone… ever!
Wealth, power, or authority must never be used to gain advantage of any kind…from anyone…ever!
No, generosity, sharing and equality must be practised…always.
John was a man of ‘musts’! Nobody hearing him could be in any doubt what was required of them.
Isn’t it amazing that despite the starkness of his message he was so popular……and not just with the poor and marginalised? Today’s gospel tells us that tax collectors, Roman soldiers and even Pharisees came to see and hear him.
Some would have come purely out of curiosity, to enjoy the drama of his words and the spectacle of those going into the water to confess their sins, be immersed by John and then re-emerge forgiven and fit for the Kingdom of God. No doubt many would have gone home, smiling and shaking their heads in amazement at what they’d seen and heard.
No doubt, the Pharisees came to spy on him. He was popular, a potential threat to their power and he needed to be carefully watched. Only a few short years later, some of those same Pharisees would be watching Jesus, again jealous of his growing popularity and fearful that he would threaten their power and authority.
Why would Roman soldiers – not even Jews themselves – come to hear him or why would tax collectors – despised and distrusted – want to associate with him? Maybe it was that his message – clear and unambiguous – offered them a road to finding meaning in their lives, the possibility of another chance, of forgiveness and a return to honesty, fairness and happiness.
Of course, not everyone who heard John was baptised or believed him. But many, including some of the wealthy, tax collectors and soldiers, were convinced and were publicly baptised as a sign of their repentance. Our gospel today tells us that “a feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ……:
‘A feeling of expectancy’ …. of excitement, hope and anticipation. How tempting it must have been for John to use his popularity and this new excitement among the crowd to further his own message. Instead of the Jordan and the wilderness, how great it would be to bring his call to repentance to Jerusalem itself, where so many more would hear and respond to it. How tempting….surely he must have considered it.
And it is now, I think, that we come to the heart of John’s own spirituality, his awareness of his own relationship with God, and his honesty about who he was, and maybe more importantly, who he was not!
In an act of incredible courage and humility he “declared before them all” that he was not the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One. “Another is coming,” he said “who is so much greater than I am. He is the one you are waiting for …… and he is here, now, among you.”
I sometimes think of that moment in February 2013 when Pope Benedict XVI, speaking quietly and calmly at a meeting of Cardinals, announced, to the shock of his hearers, that he was retiring as Pope. He said he lacked the strength “of mind and body” to continue. No Pope had retired in over seven hundred years. Popes reigned for life, and here was this usually strong, resolute man stepping back for the good of the Church.
What courage that act must have taken and what humility to follow through as he did. I believe that it is in these acts, quiet and humble, that we witness true greatness. At that moment Pope Benedict showed us the depth of his prayer and his relationship with God.
It must have been the same for John to step back from the popularity he was experiencing and to point to another who was to follow him.
There is one last point that is worth making about John’s greatness. It is easy to imagine that once John spoke, that was it. He stepped back and quietly disappeared into the wilderness, knowing he had done the right thing.
But it is clear in the Gospels that that is not how it happened. As John watched Jesus’ mission develop and grow, he began to have doubts. What Jesus was doing and saying was so different – he ate and drank with pharisees, tax collectors and the poor, he mixed easily and comfortably with all groups of people, enjoying the company of rich and poor alike.
It is surely understandable that John would look at Jesus and begin to wonder if maybe he was mistaken about him. In Luke’s Gospel we read:
“John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
The Gospels are wonderfully honest about the human reality we all share. Whether it’s Peter’s lack of faith, the doubts of Thomas, who wouldn’t believe unless he could put a finger into the wounds of Jesus, or the fears of John that he had made a mistake in pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, there is a deep and profound awareness running through the Gospels that God’s love for us is greater than our doubts, our questions or our lack of faith. How comforting that must be for all of us.
The answer Jesus sent back to John is also perfect. He doesn’t complain about being questioned or doubted. He doesn’t express anger or disappointment. Instead, he answers simply and truthfully, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” (Luke 7:19, 22)
Shortly afterwards John was executed by order of Herod. True to his convictions and his message, he refused to compromise or back away from the threats of the powerful. In this, too, John was blessed to share his death with that of Jesus.
We have so much to learn from this great and colourful man of the Gospels. It is not an accident that we meet him twice during Advent. Just as John was chosen to recognise Jesus as the Messiah, we too, this Christmas morning, can pray that we will recognise the child in the crib as God coming among us out of a love beyond all telling.
Many thanks,
Brian.
| Gospel Sunday December 12th, Third Sunday of Advent | Luke 3:10-18 © |
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