Isaiah 35:1-6,10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Advent is the time of waiting for the coming of the one who is sent by God. As we are getting closer to Christmas, the distant hope of something to happen has become stronger. We are waiting with anticipation. In German, the term for it is ‘Vorfreude’ which consists of the words ‘before’ (Vor-) and ‘joy’ (Freude) and can be translated with ‘the joy before a joyful event’. It is often said that this kind of joy is the most beautiful one: we are imagining the joyful event with so much anticipation that we don’t consider anything that could go wrong – even if we are not fully in charge. We don’t even want to talk about hope as hope can include some doubt. Despite the danger of being potentially disappointed of the event, we are joyful. This genuine joy is present this Gaudete Sunday. The Latin term ‘gaudete’ is a call to action – the Sunday of ‘Rejoice!’.
The Prophet Isaiah’s call to rejoice embraces all Creation. Even the wilderness and wasteland are called to produce flowers and beauty – and to sing for joy. God will heal and beautify His Creation with splendour and glory.
If you have lived a life that has pleased God, there is nothing to fear. God’s glory will be so immense that everyone will sing for joy. Those, who have to endure a disability will be healed and enabled to fully partake in giving praise.
Joyful anticipation for glory, peace and justice. God is active. God brings justice for victims and heals physical ailments – and God wants us to be active, too.
In the Epistle of James, the warnings against self-indulgence and concentrating on one’s personal wealth at the expense of others are culminating in the day of justice. It is not clear when this day will come, but it is important to be prepared.
Just like the farmer who first prepares the soil and plants the seeds. Once the fields are prepared, the farmer waits for the rain. The farmers at that time and even today in many areas in the world, depend on the rain for their work to become fruitful.
Waiting for the rain might require patience and persistence. Is this time also a test for us?
The time of waiting is not a time of idleness and of complaints. Being ready also means having made peace with one another. Patience and perseverance are part of being ready – whenever the moment is here. God’s time is not our time.
The text continues with the example of Job, who didn’t give up and trusted in God’s justice. Job went through many sufferings but was also rewarded for his perseverance and faith.
In today’s Gospel Reading according to Matthew, John the Baptist is in prison. He had spoken truth with courage and had confronted Herod, the powerful ruler who divorced his wife to marry his brother’s wife. John had not done anything wrong. It was Herod who had acted unlawfully.
Even in prison, John doesn’t lose faith. He knows that God will be the ultimate judge.
This is when he hears about Jesus. Is Jesus the man who will bring peace and justice? Will Jesus set the prisoners free and punish the wrongdoers?
And so, John is enquiring about Jesus. The question is clear: “Are you the one who is to come”? Jesus, however, doesn’t give a clear answer. He uses similar words as the Prophet Isaiah, describing the healing of people and proclaiming the Good News, calling those who believe in him ‘happy’.
In return, Jesus asks questions about John the Baptist. Jesus makes people aware what they had actually found in John the Baptist: a person who was not wearing elegant clothes and was living in a distant palace, but someone who lived a simple life in the desert. Jesus refers to him as a person who is more important than a prophet. John the Baptist is the one who prepares the way for the one who is to come.
John prepares the way. He plants the seeds and he waits for the one who is to come. Just like the farmer in the Epistle of James, John is ready for the moment God chooses to send the one who is to come.
The last sentence of this passage is food for thought: ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’
John the Baptist is fully human. He is not divine, but he is the greatest of all human beings. However, the heavenly kingdom is so much greater than any human kingdom that the greatest on earth cannot compete with anyone in the heavenly kingdom.
John has prepared the way for Jesus. He spoke up when he needed to, just as many other prophets have done before him. However, he is greater than any other prophet as he has prepared the way for the one who is to come: Jesus.
Pope Francis once summed up the message beautifully: “If we wish to follow Christ closely, we cannot choose an easy, quiet life. It will be a demanding life, but full of joy.”
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