ISAIAH 35:1-6, 10; PSALM 146; JAMES 5:7-10; MATTHEW 11:2-11
Reading 1 Is 35:1-6a, 10
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
Reading 2 Jas 5:7-10
Be patient, brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Gospel Mt 11:2-11
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?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
As they were going off,
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 clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
The third Sunday of Advent, it is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means “rejoice”. So we light the third candle of Advent today, it is called the candle of joy or the Shepherd’s candle as a sign of our joy that we are drawing very close to the celebration of the Lord’s birth, an event that brought joy to the world.
In one of my earlier sermons this year, I made reference to the five Ds of the devil that we should be aware of. They are deception, discouragement, distraction, doubt and delay. I preached on delay within the context of presumption of time.
Today, let us reflect on doubt.
Doubt is one of the tactics of our adversary. At one point or the other, we have been or we will be tempted to doubt important truths of our faith. We may tempted to doubt the reality of God and His existence, we may be tempted to doubt doctrines of faith, like reality of heaven or hell, real presence in the Eucharist, efficacy of prayers or of our Lady’s intercession.
However, the worst form of doubt is to doubt the love of God for us. This is what the devil used against Eve in Genesis 3:5.
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”In other words, God does not love you as you think and as He pretends, He is withholding something that is good for you.
This is the same lie the devil has been telling many people today- God does not love you as you think, if He does, He will not withhold from you what you want, your son should not have died, you should not have that growth in your brain, your sister should not have died of cancer, God doesn’t care for you that is why He did not grant your prayers, that is why you are suffering.
This doubt can be a temptation for anyone. In today’s gospel, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus “are you the one who is to come or have we got to wait for someone else?” Remember it was the same John who said in
John 1:34 “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
Now, there is a problem, John is suffering in prison, he is expecting Jesus to come and save him miraculously, Jesus did not come as expected, John began to feel worse, especially hearing what Jesus was doing for others, then he began to doubt.
Doubt often sets in when divine actions does not match with our expectations. In other words, when we do not get what we want, when we want it (second reading on patience) and how we want.
When we begin to doubt God’s love, gradually we get discouraged in our spiritual struggles, we become depressed, angry, bitter, we begin to stray from the path of righteousness and sometimes we become physically sick.
This is where the message of today connects with the theme of joy. It is impossible to be joyful if we do not realise how much God loves us, how unconditionally He loves us and how unshakeable that love is. Our challenges are not indications that God does not love us or that He has abandoned us, God’s love for us is faithful and constant.
Faith helps us to be able to recognize God’s love in our agony in the garden or in life’s imprisonment. This is why Jesus told John’s messenger to say to him “happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.”
I leave us today with two verses from the living word of God;
Jeremiah 31:3
“…I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
Isaiah 54:10
For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on December 15, 2019.