The Third Sunday of Advent (Year A), Dec. 12, 2004
Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146 or 146:4-9; James 5:7-10; Matt. 11:2-11
The prophet Isaiah foresees a time when God’s glory will be revealed everywhere. The desert will burst forth with springs, and thus become fertile and productive. The weak will be made strong; the fearful will be given confidence. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,” the vision continues, “and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” For Christians, this wonderful age foretold is the kingdom of God.
Today’s gospel makes it clear that the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are inbreakings of the kingdom in history. John the Baptist inquires from prison if Jesus is in fact the Savior who has long been expected. The Lord replies in the affirmative, pointing to irrefutable evidence. “Go and tell John what you hear and see,” he says. “[T]he blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news preached to them.” In Christ, the foundation of the kingdom is even now being laid in the world.
Paul tells us that Christians collectively constitute the body of Christ, and that individually we are members of it (1 Cor. 12:27). John’s gospel further stipulates that the body continues the Lord’s life and work until his final coming in triumph (John 12:12). From these two points, our own task is clear as the present age draws to a close.
We’re called to heal brokenness, pure and simple. While healing liturgies, offered in many of our churches, are clearly a part of this, there’s infinitely more to it than that. We’re charged, individually and corporately, with addressing spiritual deafness and blindness around us by proclaiming and living the truth of the gospel of love. We’re called to work for wholeness of the marginalized and disenfranchised, to the end that all may one day walk with dignity. We’re to work for the healing of the root causes of poverty and of want — things like lack of adequate education, unequal opportunity, and the insatiable greed of many of us. In the words of a once-popular bumper sticker, perhaps our calling is to live more simply “so that others may simply live.”
The kingdom foretold by Isaiah has its beginnings in the life and work of Jesus Christ. To the extent that we continue that life and work in the world today, we obey the injunction of James to be strong, for the final “coming of the Lord is near.”
Look It Up
How does James understand the relationship between faith and good works? (James 2:14-26)
Think About It
What are some of the ways in which the Episcopal Church works for the spread of the kingdom?
Next Sunday
The Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A), Dec. 19, 2004
Isaiah 7:10-17; Psalm 24 or 24:1-7; Rom. 1:1-7; Matt. 1:18-25
