Monday of the Third Week of Advent

Lectionary: 187

So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

There are two distinct periods in Advent. During the first Saint John the Baptist demands that we repent of our sins and prepare the way of the Lord. During the last eight days, from December 17 until the 24^th, we hear the opening verses of Saint Matthew’s and Saint Luke’s gospels, leading us to the Nativity.

Today’s gospel, then, concludes the time of penance with a terrible pronouncement: “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.” He will no longer speak to his opponents. They will see but not perceive; hear but not understand:

And (God) replied: Go and say to this people:
Listen carefully, but do not understand!
Look intently, but do not perceive!
Make the heart of this people sluggish,
dull their ears and close their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and their heart understand,
and they turn and be healed
“How long, O Lord?” I asked. And he replied:
Until the cities are desolate,
without inhabitants,
Houses, without people,
and the land is a desolate waste.
Until the LORD sends the people far away,
and great is the desolation in the midst of the land. (Isaiah 6:9-12)

Up to this point in the gospel the authorities continually challenged Jesus’ authority. No matter what he said or did they would not receive or honor him. He had given them consummate demonstrations of his mission and divine sonship. Finally, it is too late.

Not only will they be blind to what happens before their eyes and deaf to what is clearly said, the authorities of this world will themselves be actors in the fatal drama. They will condemn him with their words and crucify him by their actions. Only on Judgment Day will they see clearly the opportunity they missed. They will comprehend entirely their own mule-headed intransigence and be ashamed.

The meek and lowly thank God they have heard his voice and answered, “Here I am.” The Holy Spirit has given them a willingness to be rebuked and sorrow for their sins.

No one can say why some hear God’s word and others do not. Why did Lot’s wife turn back as the rest of the family hurried away? At the heart of our existence is this mysterious freedom. 

Venite adoremus. O come let us adore him.