JOHN THE BAPTIST—A GREAT PROPHET
Introduction
The first reading speaks of the future glory of Jerusalem, God’s people. She had deserted God like an unfaithful bride, and God had apparently abandoned her for a while in the exile. Now he is ready to take her back and renew his covenant with her; she becomes again like a new bride. God’s new initiative of love has even room for the sinner, for it is a covenant of mercy and pity, and Jerusalem’s stability will come not from her justice but from God’s love. This will become a reality in the new people of God, the Church, which is God’s bride through Christ.
John, who prepared the road for Christ’s coming, is the greatest of prophets, yet he is the smallest in the new Kingdom of Christ, because he did not see the full reality of Christ, the God-Man, the God-with-people, and of the message of Jesus.
Opening Prayer
Lord, faithful God of the covenant,
you kept your promise
of a new and permanent union with people
through Jesus Christ, our God-with-us.
Give us grateful hearts
for accepting us with mercy and pity
as the sinners we are.
Renew us by your faithful love
and let your covenant of peace
never be shaken.
Stay always with us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading: Isaiah 54:1-10
Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear, Break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labour, For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife than the children of her who has a husband, says the LORD. Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes. For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left; your descendants shall dispossess the nations and shall people the desolate cities. Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the LORD of hosts; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with enduring love I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer. This is for me like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should never again deluge the earth; So I have sworn not to be angry with you, or to rebuke you. Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Responsorial Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. R.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing. R.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks. R.
Alleluia: Luke 3:4, 6
Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 7:24-30
When the messengers of John the Baptist had left, 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 garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom Scripture says: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you. I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.” (All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
Commentary
A privilege to walk with God
Disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus, whether he was the One who was expected, or should they wait for someone else. The answer was to look around and see how the prophesies are being fulfilled. The blind, the lame, the sick are being healed – the hand of God is at work.
After the messengers of John had left, Jesus begins to comment about John to the people around him. “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John.”
Among the long line of prophets his was a unique privilege. His special role was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.” Jesus appreciates what John has accomplished in his unique mission.
The Lord explains the greatness of John the Baptist to explain to his disciples the magnitude of their own vocation to be the disciples of the Son of God. John came with a unique mission, so important in the eyes of God. But, imagine the opportunity of the disciples of Jesus, to be companions of the Son of God! John the Baptist, although came with such an important mission, did not have the opportunity to live with Christ. This is the greatness of those who receive the call to be disciples of Jesus. This was a privilege that John was never to know – God walks with us as our companion – and this is the message of advent and Christmas.
Today, half way through our preparations for Christmas, Jesus stops us on our way and poses these questions to us: “What do you go out to see? What are your true values? What impresses you? Our fellowship with Christ is something for which to praise and thank God. It is humbling to think that we are in a way more privileged than John. Jesus seems to imply that the places to which we go, or the people to whom we turn may indicate what our expectations really are.
If we are really seeking the meaning of the season, and open to its meaning being revealed to us in our day-to-day lives, we may be in for many unexpected surprises. Will we be focused in set expectations or open to unexpected surprises of God’s presence in our lives? Will we be open to God’s (presence) reign born anew in unexpected surprises or will we be too caught up in our own ‘to do’ list of expectations? Let’s wait in prayerful hope!
Intercessions
– That God’s people may be a joyful people, for God never abandons us; may he forgive us and always begin anew with us, we pray:
– That we may be grateful people, for God brings us always forgiveness and reconciliation, we pray:
– That we may be a people who keep preparing in hope the way for the deeper coming among us of Christ, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, faithful God,
we wish this bread and this wine to say
that we are open
to the full coming among us
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Through him, call us back
close to your heart,
restore us with a youthful love,
that people may praise you
as the God of mercy and tender love,
now and for ever. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God of mercy and love,
in this Eucharist you have shown us
what John the Baptist could not see,
that you are our God-with-us
in your Son Jesus Christ.
Strong with this faith and joy,
may we go out and prepare the way
for the full coming among people
of your future of justice and love
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
We cannot be but a people of hope. For notwithstanding our failures, God does not give up on us. He relies on us to be trailblazers for him, who cannot give up trying again and again to be good and loving people, just and merciful. That is our vocation, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!