Third Sunday of Advent

 Lectionary: 7

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?"

The Church recommends today's gospel from Saint Matthew when we administer the Anointing of the Sick. We hear the Baptist's query, and the Lord's reply; that is, the Baptist's anxiety about the advent of the Lord -- "When? How long must we wait? Is it now? -- and Jesus's reassuring reply" Go and tell John what you hear and see."

Christmas comes to us in the same way. After four weeks of Advent, the sun will rise and set on December 25th, as it has for millions of years, and we will still be waiting. Some will wonder; skeptics will scoff; and cynics will turn away. 

And, in some mysterious fashion, the blind will regain their sight, the lame will walk, lepers will be cleansed, the deaf will hear, the dead will be raised, and the poor will have the good news proclaimed to them.

But, regardless of how these signs are recognized, the decision to believe remains. No one's choice of belief or disbelief can be overwhelmed by scientific evidence or miraculous signs. We have seen resilient skepticism persist despite incontrovertible evidence in opinions like the flat earth, creationism, and election denial. Some people intentionally choose to be uninformed and ignorant. (And we must respect their human integrity despite their comical appearance. Neither comedy nor tragedy could be written without them!)  

As a priest, I often hear of miraculous healings, "The doctors were amazed!" People who have no reason to deceive tell stories of cancers disappeared, limbs healed, and criminals reformed. Racists embrace their pariahs and enemies negotiate a true and lasting peace. If the planet is not overwhelmed with the Peace beyond Comprehension, God's kingdom has nonetheless appeared in many ways to many people. 

In the end we accept God's word as it come to us through the liturgy, the tradition, the Magisterium, and the scriptures. In speaking the Word, the LORD created all things ex nihilo -- out of nothing! (as physicists btw have demonstrated!) -- and that Word is as solid and reliable as the Earth beneath us, the air we breathe, and the stars above. Air-heads may create, and believe in, fantastic airy worlds but we behold, accept, and love the real world with its satisfactions and disappointments, it crosses and its crowns, and are content to wait.