{"id":3053,"date":"2019-12-15T11:28:53","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T16:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=3053"},"modified":"2019-12-15T11:28:53","modified_gmt":"2019-12-15T16:28:53","slug":"3rd-sunday-of-advent-year-a-homily-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/3rd-sunday-of-advent-year-a-homily-2\/","title":{"rendered":"3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

3rd<\/sup> Sunday of Advent, Year A<\/a>
Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10
Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 (Isaiah 35:4)
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
December 15, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe patient.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe patient, brothers and sisters, until the\ncoming of the Lord.<\/em>\u201d  These are the\nwords that begin our second reading today. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hear them\nas we approach our celebration of the First Coming of Jesus at Christmas.  It is the First Coming that prophets like\nIsaiah spoke of.  Isaiah foretold the\ncoming of a messiah over 600 years before Jesus\u2019 birth.  The prophets had to be patient in waiting for\nwhat did not happen in their lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John the\nBaptist came to \u201cprepare the way of the\nLord.<\/em>\u201d  He did not have to wait\nlong.  Jesus was born six months after\nhim.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did\nJohn\u2019s work to \u201cprepare the way of the\nLord<\/em>\u201d get him?  Fame?  No, he drew much attention but he ended up in\nprison for his ministry.  He didn\u2019t even\nget to see Jesus\u2019 ministry himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did, at\nleast, get to hear of Jesus from prison. \nHowever, he was surprised at what he heard.  Like many others, he expected a messiah that\nwould come to rule and judge.  That is\nnot what Jesus did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, John the\nBaptist, \u201csent his disciples to Jesus<\/em>\u201d\nto ask if He is \u201cthe one who is to come,\nor should we look for another?\u201d\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\nresponse is to speak of those He has healed, the blind, lame, lepers, deaf, and\nhow \u201cthe dead are raised.<\/em>\u201d  Why does Jesus speak of this?  He knows the people have been expecting a\nmessiah to be a great king and judge. \nThat does not mean Jesus is not the one. \nHe points to the miracles to show how He fulfills prophecies like what\nwe hear from Isaiah today, \u201cThen will the\neyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the\nlame leap<\/em>\u201d as well as the Psalm echoing similar healings and the Lord\u2019s\ncare for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then three\ntimes Jesus asks those around him \u201cabout\nJohn…what did you go out to see<\/em>?\u201d \nMany went to see what John the Baptist was doing, drawn to him as a\nprophet.  Jesus points them to how John\nfulfills the prophecies of the \u201cmessenger<\/em>\u201d\nwho is sent ahead of him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a time\nto \u201crejoice\u201d as the prophecies about John and Jesus are both fulfilled.  Hearing this good news in the readings, we call\ntoday \u201cGaudete Sunday,\u201d Gaudete meaning \u201crejoice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It reminds of\nthe hope we can have with what we celebrate at Christmas.  We are not there yet.  We still have to wait.  Advent is a time to patient for \u201cthe coming of the Lord is at hand<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We might think\nof Advent as time spent in the desert waiting for Isaiah writes as \u201cThey will bloom with abundant flowers, and\nrejoice with joyful song.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are you\ndoing in your waiting for Christmas?  Are\nyou ready?  Are you anxious?  Or do all the preparations and spending got\nyou down?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember to take time to think about what Christmas is really about.  For many, it becomes all about the material gifts.  The gifts can represent the true spirit of Christmas that is love, not possession.  The love is what gives us hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advent is\nalso a time for us to think about our waiting for the Second Coming.  This is actually the \u201ccoming of the Lord<\/em>\u201d that James speaks about in the second reading\n(remember the First Coming had already happened.  James was a disciple of Jesus).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people who\nin lived in the generation right after Jesus expected the Second Coming to\nhappen immediately.  This is the waiting\nfor which James writes, \u201cYou too must be\npatient<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Second\nComing, as Isaiah writes, \u201cthey will meet\nwith joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.<\/em>\u201d  If one expects Jesus to come in judgment, one\nmight fear the Second Coming.  However,\nif one has strived to live as Jesus teaches, we don\u2019t have to fear the Second\nComing because we know if we repent Jesus takes the judgment (hence the\npunishment for our sins) upon himself. \nSo, we can look forward with hope to the Second Coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The early\ndisciples after Jesus\u2019 death and Resurrection looked forward to the Second\nComing but when it did not happen, their patient began to dwindle.  Now, many have seemed to lost any expectation\nthat God even exists, let alone awaiting a Second Coming.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do NOT lose\nhope.  Jesus came at the First Coming and\nHe will come again.  You know this in\nyour heart.  Spread the love of Jesus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year AIsaiah 35:1-6a, 10Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 (Isaiah 35:4)James 5:7-10Matthew 11:2-11December 15, 2019 \u201cBe patient.\u201d \u201cBe patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.\u201d  These are the words that begin our second reading today.  We hear them as we approach our celebration of the First Coming of Jesus at …<\/p>\n

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