December 15^th 2019. Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)

GOSPEL: Matthew 11:2-11

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew 11, 2-11

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
"What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out?  To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . John the Baptist is perplexed. He had foretold a Messiah who would purify the earth and punish the wicked. Instead, Jesus heals the sick, raises the dead and preaches the Good News to the poor. Jesus has to send a message to John in prison to say that he will be blessed if he takes no offense at Jesus’ way of being the Messiah. All of us fall into the trap of thinking that what is needed is for each one of us to put everything in order, but Jesus teaches us that all that is important is that he be allowed to love us and save us. I need to stop thinking that I can enter the Kingdom of God by virtue of my own capacities! To enter the kingdom I must stop pretending that I can see, can hear, am clean and am fully alive. I must acknowledge my blindness, my deafness, my impurity and my inner death. I must turn to the Lord who alone can save me. I must allow his love to bring me back to life.

John the Baptist had foretold a Messiah who would bring justice, purify the earth and destroy the wicked. He does not understand why Jesus instead concentrates on helping the poor

The third Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of joy. The joy that the Lord brings is like the peace that he brings: a joy that is completely different to the joy of this world. The Gospel text, in fact, speaks of the perplexity of John the Baptist who, "having heard of the works of Christ, sent his disciples to ask him: ‘Are you the one who must come or must we wait for another?’" Why does he ask this question? John was expecting a Messiah who would harvest "his wheat in the barn" and burn "the straw with an unquenchable fire", a Messiah who would cleanse the world powerfully. John himself was austere, radical and serious. In fact, Jesus described him as the greatest of those born of women. There is no better man than he. But John was not ready for this strange Messiah, who gives sight to the blind, heals the lame, the deaf and lepers, revives the dead and comforts the poor.

True peace and true joy are not like the peace and joy of this earth. The kingdom that Jesus brings is probably different to the kingdom that we would like him to bring

John does not understand, and Jesus is forced to say, directly to him: "Blessed is he who finds no cause for scandal in me!" The word "scandal" is onomatopoeic and refers to bumping into an obstacle. John will find joy and bliss if he overcomes the obstacle. Which obstacle? That of his pre-conceptions. The joy that the Lord gives is different from what we expect. It is liberating and discards nothing, condemns nothing. This might have been a disappointment for John. For him, perhaps, the important thing was to put everything back in place, while for Jesus what matters is to save everything. We never fully learn this lesson. It is a trap that we constantly fall into. We get peace of mind to think that we can put everything in order, but true peace bears the stigmata! It does not erase the traces of chaos, but has learned to bear the marks. Eastern Christians call it "paschal peace". It is a peace that comes from death and has found the path of life in the midst of the absurd.

I cannot enter the Kingdom by virtue of my own capacities. In the Kingdom, it is the blind who see, the deaf who hear, the lepers who are cleansed. To enter the kingdom I must stop pretending that I see, hear, am clean and am alive. I must acknowledge my blindness, deafness, impurity and death and allow the Lord to love me back to life.

If, as Jesus says in the end, "the smallest in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John", it means that a beautiful humanity is not what the kingdom of heaven is about. The kingdom of heaven is not attained with reason nor with feeling. Human intellect is wonderful and our art can be sublime. But the kingdom of heaven is more, much more than what we can attain with all our resources, our strength and our creativity. Not a single person on the strength of their own talents can enter the kingdom of heaven. But the blind see it, the lame enter it, the deaf hear it, it awakens the dead. It is a kingdom of the poor. This is not about justice, but something that surpasses justice. It is Love that redeems those who made a mistake, who gathers in one who would otherwise be thrown away, who comes to look for those who are of no use because He, the Lord, cannot be without them. Not even the most miserable person on earth is overlooked by this Love. To enter this kingdom of Love, one must be blind, lame, deaf, covered with leprosy, dead and poor. And this is how we are, as soon as we stop pretending to be something else and simply be ourselves: weak and fragile.