DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Isaiah 61, 1-2a.10-11; I Thessalonians 5, 16-24; John 1, 6-8.19-28;
3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B, 13th December, 2020)
This Sunday’s Gospel presents John the Baptist’s testimony. He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light - we read in the prologue of the fourth Gospel - so that all might believe through him" (John 1,7). The testimony of the Baptist is a negative testimony in the first part, in which we have an example of what becomes clear self-denial. Denying one's own importance, denying oneself is an indispensable disposition to leave all the available place for the Lord. Each of us has a tendency to believe ourselves to be the master, the saviour of ourselves, and give ourselves great importance. In this case the Lord neither communicate his gifts to us, nor give himself to us, and cannot save us, because there is no place for him in us. To prepare for the feast of Christmas, we must try to make void in ourselves, so that there will be space for the Lord.
John the Baptist has this humility, and demonstrates it in a very decisive way. The Gospel tells us that priests and Levites come to him from Jerusalem to question him, because his mission causes perplexity. In fact, he retired to the desert to live a very austere life and invite people to convert. The priests and Levites ask him: Who are you? John answers the question that they have not formulated, but which is their real question: I am not the Christ. The Baptist, immediately, senses that they think that he is the Messiah, or the Christ (Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew term Messiah), or that he believes he is such. So, he immediately, sets the record straight: I am not the Christ. Then they ask him: What then? Are you Elijah? The prophet Elijah, as had been announced by prophet Malachy in the name of God (cf. Mark 3,23), should have returned to prepare the decisive intervention of God, which all the Jews were waiting for. John replies in the negative: I am not he. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel had announced to Zechariah, regarding John: He will walk before the Lord with the spirit and strength of Elijah (Luke 1,17), that is, with a prophetic attitude similar to that of Elijah. But for his part, John acknowledges that he is not Elijah. The Jews were also waiting for another character/personality. In Deuteronomy, God promised to give his people a prophet similar to Moses. But, according to the belief of the Old Testament, this prophet had not yet come. In fact, at the end of Deuteronomy the author says: A prophet like Moses has not arisen in Israel (Deut. 34,10). The Jews, therefore, expected not just any prophet, but the prophet solemnly announced by God in Deuteronomy. But John the Baptist declares that he is not this prophet. The priests and the Levites then ask him: Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? At this point John gives a positive answer, but he is very humble; he does not say that he is someone, but only a voice: "I am as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord. The whole mission of the Baptist is summed up in being this voice that invites us to prepare the way of the Lord. It is necessary to prepare the way of God or, more precisely, the way of the Messiah. The priests and the Levites sent from Jerusalem question him: Why then do you baptise, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? Again, John replies in a very humble way: I baptise with water … The baptism of John, therefore, has no great value. Then he declares: I baptise with water; but there stands among you-unknown to you-the one coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap. John defines himself here as the forerunner, the one who precedes a more important character than himself, that is Jesus, the Messiah. Later he will tell us that this personage baptises with the Holy Spirit, that is, he performs a truly effective baptism (cf. John 1,33).
The baptism of John is a baptism that expresses only the expectation of grace, but does not communicate the grace. Instead, the baptism of Jesus communicates grace, and the Holy Spirit, and completely renews the person, radically purifying him of all his sins and confers on him the divine sonship. We are invited to love and imitate John the Baptist attitude of humility. We must prepare for Christmas with this attitude, recognising our inability to save ourselves and the absolute need for our Saviour.
The first reading defines the Saviour’s mission more fully. In the oracle of Isaiah we have: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has consecrated me with anointing. The Hebrew term Messiah means anointed, the one who has been consecrated with the anointing. The oracle of Isaiah is applied to the Messiah/Jesus (which means Saviour). He is sent to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the wounds of broken hearts, to proclaim the freedom of slaves, the release of prisoners, to promulgate the year of the Lord's mercy. The Messiah brings good news for the poor, the broken hearts, all the humble and oppressed. Jesus’ work consists of this liberation from sins and oppression. He came to restore to all men the dignity and freedom of the children of God, which he alone can communicate.
In the second reading Paul invites us to prepare the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by keeping ourselves blameless, with the grace of God. The Apostle exhorts us to have three attitudes, which should be our habitual attitudes: constant joy, perseverance in prayer and continuous thanksgiving. This is, in fact, the will of God towards you, Paul says to the Thessalonians, and this also applies to us. Always be happy. We must always be joyful, even when things do not go according to our expectations. Indeed, we have a great reason to be joyful, for the fact that the Saviour is coming to us. The joy of hope, and also the joy for the benefits we have already received. This joy is based on persevering prayer:
Pray without ceasing, says the Apostle. Through prayer we can continuously, enter into a relationship with God, and this relationship instills true joy in our hearts. The third attitude indicated by Paul is grateful love:
In everything give thanks. In fact, God is so generous to us, and we must always recognize his benefits, and love; we must live in continuous thanksgiving. Joy, prayer and gratitude: these are the three attitudes with which we must prepare for Christmas. In this Eucharist we therefore, ask the Lord to open our hearts to his grace, so that we can live these three attitudes. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
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