Art Thou He?
The Third Sunday in Advent
Friends, you may have noticed a few lovely differences in our service on this third Sunday in Advent. The altar is adorned with beautiful roses. The Advent candle for this third Sunday and vestments are also rose-colored rather than the usual penitential purple. With a touch of triumphalism, we processed to the Advent of our King, lifting our voices in "strains of Holy joy!"
This Sunday, known as Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday, invites us into a spirit of delight and festivity, offering a brief reprieve from the penitential nature of Advent. Gaudete Sunday beckons to look forward to the fullness of Christmas joy awaiting each of us, even the whole world. We rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin in a humble manger, as God the Son took humanity upon Himself to redeem a world in darkness. We're looking ahead to Christmas Day, when we will celebrate the birth of Christ, the very Joy of Christmas. Jesus, the King of Kings, who alone reigns in glory.
And yet, we are confronted with a strange contradiction between rejoicing on Gaudete Sunday and a seriously troubled portrayal of John the Baptist, confined within the walls of a prison cell. He is in captivity, isolated, and enduring a long, dreary winter alone. He is facing trials and perplexities, struggling mightily with doubt: "Is Jesus the One who was promised to come? Or is there someone else?" John is questioning and doubting everything.
Despite being incarcerated, John receives reports about Jesus' activities and interactions with the Pharisees and Sadducees. The information is confusing. Jesus is not acting in the way John expected. Why isn't the One he identified as the Messiah making Himself known? Where is the "Elijah-like wrath" that the One to Come is supposed to unleash upon the corruption of Israel—and the world? Why hasn't the kingdom of heaven already arrived in its fullness, bringing vindication for Israel and justice for the people of God? What is happening? John finds himself in the dark shadows of doubt and confusion.
In this riveting portrait of the Baptist, we find a type of the world that once "sat in darkness and in the shadow of death." A world to which the True Light, "the day-spring from on high," came and visited, as Jesus came to John that day on Jordan's banks. John is a type of Israel to whom the Incarnate Word of God came and dwelt with them, and yet, the people did not recognize Him; "Art thou He?" (Jn 1:10).
John is like us, the baptized, to whom the light has come and shined into our hearts, manifesting the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6). We, who by grace and through faith in baptism have received the Word deep within the soul. We believe. We behold him in the sacrament. And yet, like John, in the darker hours, we sometimes doubt: "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Possibly the most human, raw, and real words spoken in Holy Scripture.
As the world was on the eve of Christ's birth, perhaps you find yourself in darkness and confusion, bound by a prison of doubt, alone, isolated, and wondering if this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is Truly the Word of God; the Promised One of Israel; the Great Physician who alone can heal all things; the conqueror of death and giver of life. Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"
Jesus could have responded in a million different ways to his cousin's skepticism and doubt. Indignation or evasion were within the realm of possible responses. He could have outright ignored the question. And yet, he responds. Jesus chooses to make himself known. He graciously responds, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them."
See how Jesus chose to assuage John's doubts through his Word. Look how he comforts and assures by his Word and deeds. Jesus comforts John with the Word by quoting the prophet Isaiah, "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isa. 35:4-6).
Through the Divine Word, Jesus affirms that He is the one and only Messiah of God—Israel's long-awaited Savior, confirmed by His words, miracles, and power. In addressing John's doubts with the authoritative Word of God, He reveals Himself through His life and actions as the Word made flesh, the Lamb of God given for the life of the world. Ultimately, there is no true comfort, reassurance, or healing apart from the Word of God: Jesus Christ.
As it was with John, it is the Word of God by which we are comforted as well. In the Holy Scriptures, we, too, find confirmation and are assured of who Jesus truly is. Through the Word sung and prayed in the Liturgies and prayers of the church, Jesus draws near. And in the mystical union of the Holy Sacrament, the Word enters our souls and strengthens the body. Our clouded hearts see clearly; no longer infirmed by the weight of sins, we walk uprightly; no longer lepers but cleansed, hearing the Gospel call, and ultimately raised into the Divine life through Eucharistic participation.
To you who doubt, who are anxious or imprisoned by the weight of this world, behold: look to Jesus, his Word, and deeds, because they show him to be the Messiah, the One whom John and the entire world were looking for. As he directed John, remember... look back and remember what he's already done for you! There is no need to perform another miracle because he's already done the impossible: he was raised from the dead and is alive, forever standing at the heavenly altar interceding for the Saints.
He didn't attempt to nullify John and his disciples by doing a new miracle. He says, "Look at what I've already done!" And if we would only stop and take the necessary time, we would find a vast history of the Lord working miraculously in our lives. He has already shown himself to be the Lord. My friends, remember the miracle of salvation that came to you by hearing the salvific Word: How Christ converted your heart of stone into flesh. Know that Jesus IS the power to save you even now in your present trouble, the frenzied calamities of life.
Day by day, the Lord is returning sinners into the loving arms of the Father. He is turning the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers: mothers to daughters, husbands to wives, and wives to husbands. As I speak, he is miraculously mending the most fractured of friendships, healing wounds of every kind, both of the body and the soul. And he has proven time and time again, through miracles big and small, that he is the One we are looking for; there is no other. Let us rejoice and take comfort in this: what the Lord has done in the past is a sure sign of what he will do in the future! or he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We, like John, must seek out Christ during times of despair and doubt. We must resist the temptation to retreat into solitude and sorrow and instead recognize that Christ has come and is present with us — this changes everything! Christ is here, and we should seek answers from Him through prayer and meditation on His Word. We should embrace holy solitude and engage in faithful worship, drawing ever closer to Him by partaking in Holy Communion. In doing so, we find ourselves in Him, patiently waiting for His guidance, enduring with hope until He speaks and acts.
The Lord is indeed coming, but we must wait patiently for His arrival. What about the suffering we experience while we wait? Many of us may face challenges and trials on our journey of faith, each to varying degrees. However, we must not give up our faith and resolve to seek answers from the Lord. Like St. John the Baptist, we must remain firm and faithful, even to the point of death. No enemy shall overtake the faithful—not even death. As Jeremiah writes, "They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee."
"Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" The answer is no. The One who has come to you, who is with you even now, is the God of your salvation. Rejoice!" The Word shall comfort all who have rightly received and believed in Him. God is with you, and a river of grace, loveliness, and joy flows from his presence. And one day, he will come again to fully and finally vindicate the righteous and make all things new. Amen+
