Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: December 12th

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Questions on the Gospel Reading for personal study and reflection:

* In the Gospel Reading, who questions Jesus (verse 2)? How did John wind up in prison (Matthew 14:1-5)?

* Why did John send the questions that he did? Does Jesus answer John’s questions more with promises or with evidence? Why? How might John, who knew the Old Testament well, have interpreted Jesus’ reply (see Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1)?

* How was John unlike a weak reed or a well-groomed politician? What does Jesus say about John (verses 9-11)? Why was he greater that the Old Testament prophets? How is a New Testament believer greater than John the Baptist (verse 11; see Matthew 18:3-4)?

* What kind of “prisons” tend to bring out doubts for you regarding Jesus? In those periods of discouragement and doubt, what most renews your courage and faith?

* In what specific way can you be an encourager to someone in Church ministry? In your family? Among your friends?

 

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A meditation for practical personal application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **The Church brings John the Baptist, the man who prepared the people for Christ’s public mission, before our minds today, as an example that we should follow, even if only from afar. John prepared himself for the task of welcoming and introducing Christ to others, by a life of self-mortification and penance. He told the people that the first essential for meeting Christ, and profiting by his coming, was that they should turn away from sin and give up any evil ways, which hitherto they had followed. He himself practiced what he preached and his preaching, therefore, bore fruit among many of his hearers. Four of the twelve Apostles became followers of Christ because of the Baptist’s example and preaching.

John is calling on us too today, to prepare ourselves for Christ’s coming this Christmas, by turning away from sin, and by the mortification of ourselves in many ways. We are not expected to wear the rough camel-hair dress he wore, and eat nothing but locusts and wild honey. But each one of us can restrain the excessive luxuries of the palate, in which we often indulge, and use the money, thus saved, to help those who are short of the necessities of life, in far too many parts of today’s world. Many of us, too, could look through our wardrobes and find garments we can well do without. These could help to keep the wintry blasts from our poor, shivering fellowman or women this Christmas.

Most of us feel touched, when we see the Baby Christ lying, half-naked, on the rough straw in the stable. But to do something for him, we need not wish we were there on that first Christmas. We can do it for his suffering brothers this Christmas, and he himself tells us if we do that we are doing it for him.

In repenting of our sins, the first necessary step if we want to welcome Christ into a pure heart and into our Christian homes, let our conversion and resolutions be firm, as was the resolute stand of John the Baptist. He was not a reed that was shaken by every wind, and we too must stand firm against the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, if we are to remain worthy of the name of Christian. John the Baptist suffered martyrdom for his faith and convictions. Few, if any, of us will be called on to lay down our lives for our faith, but we are all called on to live for it, and with it, every day of our lives.

This may demand sacrifice nowadays, when our permissive society derides and looks down on those still trying to live according to the old-fashioned ten commandments. But we must not only be ready to accept this derision; we must do all in our power, by word, prayer and example, to get our erring neighbor to see that virtue does pay in the end.

We have much in this story of John the Baptist which should help us to welcome Christ properly this Christmas. Think of the Baptist today, and listen to the message he has for you. If you do your best to put it into practice, the good, merciful Lord himself will do the rest for you. He came to save sinners. He came to save you. If you cooperate and do your part, you will hear, on your judgment day, the joyful words of Christ : “You are more than a prophet, you are a citizen of heaven—a saint.”

 

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A meditation on the Gospel from Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations:

"The one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist!"

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

Meditation:

Why did Jesus praise John the Baptist as the greatest person born of a woman and then in the same breath say that those who enter God’s kingdom will be greater than John (Matthew 11:11)? John is the last and greatest of the prophets of the old covenant. He fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets – to be fingers pointing to Christ, God’s Anointed Son and Messiah. John prepared the way for the Messiah and he pointed others to Jesus the Messiah at the River Jordan when he exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) John saw from a distant what Jesus would accomplish through his death on the cross – our redemption from bondage to sin and death and our adoption as sons and daughters of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus knew that what the Father had sent him to accomplish for our sake would supersede all that the prophets had done and foreseen in the past. Jesus offers us not only pardon and healing. He gives us abundant life and the promise of unending joy with him in his kingdom.

When King Herod tried to silence John by throwing him into prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus after John had heard the reports about Jesus performing signs and wonders and speaking to people about the coming of God’s kingdom. John wanted his disciples to hear and see firsthand what Jesus was doing to bring the kingdom of God to those who were receptive and ready to receive his message. Jesus confirmed for John that the miracles and healings which he performed were in direct fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies announced by Isaiah some 700 years previously. Isaiah had prophesied that when the Messiah would come to save his people he would “open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, the lame would leap, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy” (Isaiah 35:5). Jesus’ miracles are a demonstration of the power of God’s kingdom at work in the midst of his people. When God acts to save his people he turns their sorrow and weeping into joy and singing, and their fear and weakness into strength and hope.

When Jesus had answered the disciples of John, he in turn asked them a question. “Why did you go out in the wilderness to see John the Baptist?” “Did you go because you were hungry for the word of the Lord?” Jesus said that John was more than a spokesman for God. John was the faithful witness and friend of the bridegroom who pointed others to the presence of the Messiah in their midst. Jesus contrasted John with the image of a reed shaken by the wind. Unlike a reed which is weak and spineless and can be easily crushed or bruised, John stood as a pillar of strength and truth in the face of opposition and persecution. No demonic force could weaken or crush John in his unswerving trust in God and his word. The Lord Jesus offers us the same assurance of faith and strength of hope and courage to stand against every force that would try to rob us of our faith and trust in God. Where do you place your trust and hope? In the things that fade or pass away, or in the abiding word of God which never fails and in his everlasting kingdom which will never perish?
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“Lord Jesus, strengthen my trust in your word and my hope in the saving power of your kingdom. Free me from everything that would hold me back from pursuing your kingdom and your will for my life.” *

 

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A meditation on the Readings from Dr. Scott Hahn at The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology:

**Here is Your God
**
John questions Jesus from prison in today’s Gospel - for his disciples’ sake and for ours.

He knows that Jesus is doing “the works of the Messiah,” foretold in today’s First Reading and Psalm. But John wants his disciples - and us - to know that the Judge is at the gate, that in Jesus our God has come to save us.

The Liturgy of Advent takes us out into the desert to see and hear the marvelous works and words of God - the lame leaping like a stag, the dead raised, the good news preached to the poor (see Isaiah 29:18-20; 61:1-2).

The Liturgy does this to give us courage, to strengthen our feeble hands and make firm our weak knees. Our hearts can easily become frightened and weighed down by the hardships we face. We can lose patience in our sufferings as we await the coming of the Lord.

As James advises in today’s Epistle, we should take as our example the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Jesus also points us to a prophet - holding up John as a model. John knew that life was more than food, the body more than clothing. He sought the kingdom of God first, confident that God would provide (see Matthew 6:25-34). John did not complain. He did not lose faith. Even in chains in his prison cell, he was still sending his disciples - and us - to our Savior.

We come to Him again now in the Eucharist. Already He has caused the desert to bloom, the burning sands to become springs of living water. He has opened our ears to hear the words of the sacred book, freed our tongue to fill the air with songs of thanksgiving (see Isaiah 30:18).

Once bowed down, captives to sin and death, we have been ransomed and returned to His Kingdom, crowned with everlasting joy. Raised up we now stand before His altar to meet the One who is to come: “Here is your God.”

 

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Meditations and questions for personal and group study from The Word Among Us magazine:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see.” (Matthew 11:4)

John the Baptist stood at the threshold between the Old and New Testaments. In him we see the culmination of centuries of prophecy and waiting. The last of the prophets to announce Jesus from afar, John was also the first witness to him, leaping for joy in his mother’s womb at the Visitation (Luke 1:41). The church honors John with many titles that reflect how faithfully he carried out his role as a bridge: Witness of the Lord, Crown of the Prophets, Forerunner of the Redeemer, Herald of the Messiah, and Servant of the Word.

Yes, John was a great man of God. But he was also an ordinary human being. Today’s Gospel shows us how John, near the end of his life, questioned whether Jesus really was the promised Messiah. After all, if Jesus was the chosen one, why was John, his kinsman and herald, in prison awaiting a near-certain execution?

Jesus responded to John’s doubts by recounting the solid facts about his ministry: “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised”—all in fulfillment of what had been foretold about him (Matthew 11:5; Isaiah 35:5-6). He urged John to hold fast to these truths and not give up hope.

Each of us has had times when we doubt God’s love and care for us, times when we feel uncertain about following the Lord. And Jesus gives us the exact same answer he gave John: Look back over your life. Recall the wonderful things you have seen the Lord do. Hold fast to your faith, even when it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Eventually, you too will be vindicated.

Remember: Despite John’s doubts, Jesus still had very kind words for him: “Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). And he will be just as pleased with us as we hold firm in faith!

“Thank you, Jesus, for revealing yourself to me. Lord, I believe in you. Help me to hold fast to you.”

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In the first reading, a Messiah is promised who will strengthen and heal the thirsty, the feeble and weak, the frightened, the blind, the lame, the mute, and the imprisoned. In what way do you see yourself as one of these?

1. Again, the responsorial psalm describes the Messiah’s actions on behalf of the oppressed, hungry, blind, strangers, fatherless, and widows. As Christ’s disciple, are there any of these that the Lord is asking you to serve, individually or as a group, during and after Advent? What about this week?

1. The second reading tells us to “be patient”. Do you tend to turn to the Lord for help, wisdom, and guidance when problems arise or do you just rush ahead yourself? What can you do to be more patient in responding to situations, and to be more open and sensitive to the Lord’s leading?

1. St. James also tells us not to complain or be judgmental. When you take an honest look at your thoughts during the day, how often do you fall into one of these categories? What steps can you take to improve in taking “captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)?

1. In the Gospel, in response to the question, “Are you the one?” — Jesus tells John’s disciples that he is the one who has fulfilled all the messianic promises. If you were asked why you believe that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to heal us and set us free from sin and death, how would you answer?

1. In today’s meditation, we hear these words: “Each of us has had times when we doubt God’s love and care for us, times when we feel uncertain about following the Lord.” How well are you able to “hold firm in faith” when facing difficult situations? What steps can you take during this Advent season of grace, individually or as a group, to deepen your faith and your trust in the Lord’s love and care for you?

 

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Finding the Perfect Gift – A Reflection on the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

The Gospel today is best seen in three stages as John the Baptist and we with him are encouraged to make a journey from puzzlement, through purification to perfection. Here is a Gospel that encourages us to find the perfect gift.
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1. Puzzlement -** John the Baptist is discouraged, or so it seems if we interpret this text correctly. John had been looking for a Messiah who would root out injustice, crush the wicked, destroy the oppressors and exalt the poor and the oppressed. Recall his words from last week’s gospel:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.* (Mat 3:10-12)

With delight John had pointed out Christ when he came: Look there is the Lamb of God! (John 1:29). With humble hesitation he had baptized the one who would change everything. He encouraged his disciples to follow after the one who is mightier than I saying,

A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (Jn 3:28-30)

Yet now John is in prison! Placed there by a tyrant, an oppressor. The very sort of man John was sure that Messiah would cut down and cast into fire. Where was the hoped for deliverance? Where was the exultation of the lowly and casting down of the mighty? Where was the axe being laid to the root?

So John was discouraged, or so it would seem. And thus we see the very one who had announced Jesus, and pointed him out when he came, sending his disciples to Jesus with a question:

Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another?

Now John was not wholly baseless in his expectation of a wrathful coming of the Messiah. There are many texts that spoke of it. For example here are three:

1. *Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!…Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it….I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. *(Is 13:6-10)
2. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. (Nahum 1:6)
3. *But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? *(Mal 3:2)

So John had worked hard to call people to repentance to get them ready for the great and terrible day of the Lord. John’s discouragement and puzzlement are thus understandable as Jesus does not slay the wicked, but instead goes about healing and preaching and, instead of slaying the wicked he is enduring scorn and ridicule from those in power.

And we can see, John’s notions, while understandable, are in need of some purification.
**
2. Purification – ** Jesus gives an answer to those sent by John that draws from a different tradition of Messiah texts than what John had emphasized. The Old Testament texts that spoke of the Messiah were complicated and at times hard to interpret. While some texts spoke of his wrath toward the wicked and unjust, others spoke of his healing and mercy. The differences in the description of the Messiah had a lot to do with context, audience and also the possibility that the Messiah’s ministry might be accomplished in stages. Hence, while John the Baptist is not wrong in his application of the wrathful and vindicating texts to the Messiah, the New Testament tradition came to understand such texts more of the Messiah’s second coming than of his first.

Continued on the next post…

 

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Jesus thus gives the following answer to those sent by John:
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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.*

In this answer, Jesus is stitching together many quotes and prophecies about the Messiah, mostly from Isaiah. For example consider the following:

1. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 29:18-19)
2. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn ( Is 61:1-3)
3. The dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall. (Is 26:19)
4. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. (Is 35:5-6)

Thus, John and all of us, thus need to purify our sense of what is best for God to do. Jesus says in today’s Gospel to those who are disappointed in his lack of wrathful vengeance: And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.

It is essential to accept Jesus teaching here. This not only because we better conform to scriptural tradition but also, because rejoicing in any other gift than grace and mercy is very dangerous. Notice, John was hoping for a wrathful punishment to be inflicted on the proud and all sinful oppressors. We too can fall into the trap of wishing this upon individuals or even whole segments of the world. But it is a very dangerous thing to call down God’s wrath upon sinners, since, last time I checked, none of us are outside the category “sinner.”

Concluded on the next post…

 

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Here then is the necessary purification in our thinking: God’s greatest gift is not the crushing of our enemies. God’s greatest gift is His Son Jesus. Further, it is not Jesus’ wrath that is his greatest gift, it is his grace and mercy. Without Jesus and boatloads of his grace and mercy we don’t stand a chance. Even John the Baptist of who Christ says, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist, even he needs lots of grace and mercy as we shall see.
**
3. Perfection – **And thus we are left with the directive by the Lord to find the perfect gift. And Jesus announces this perfect gift by first describing the best that the world can do. And what was that best accomplishment of the world? Let’s read:
*
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 Baptis*t.

And thus John the Baptist was the pinnacle. The best that this world has produced. But pay attention to what the Lord says next:

yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Do you see what grace and mercy can do? Do you see that they surpass any worldly excellence? For the world can produce only human and worldly excellence. But Grace and Mercy produce heavenly excellence and make us like unto God. If you seek the perfect gift this Christmas, look to Jesus, for he alone can bestow the grace and mercy that we desperately need. If even the holy John the Baptist was in need, how much more you and I. Grace and mercy far excel any thing we can ask or imagine. I have quoted before the vision of St. Catherine wherein she describes a glorified soul in heaven:

It was so beautiful that she could not look on it; the brightness of that soul dazzled her. Blessed Raymond, her confessor, asked her to describe to him, as far as she was able, the beauty of the soul she had seen. St. Catherine thought of the sweet light of that morning, and of the beautiful colors of the rainbow, but that soul was far more beautiful. She remembered the dazzling beams of the noonday sun, but the light which beamed from that soul was far brighter. She thought of the pure whiteness of the lily and of the fresh snow, but that is only an earthly whiteness. The soul she had seen was bright with the whiteness of Heaven, such as there is not to be found on earth. ” My father,” she answered. “I cannot find anything in this world that can give you the smallest idea of what I have seen. Oh, if you could but see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace, you would sacrifice your life a thousand times for its salvation. I asked the angel who was with me what had made that soul so beautiful, and he answered me, “It is the image and likeness of God in that soul, and the Divine Grace which made it so beautiful” [1].

Ah yes, the perfect gift. And God wants to get us ready for it. A day of strict justice is on the way which John envisioned. But until that time it has pleased God to offer us the perfect gift of his Son, who by his grace and mercy will prepare us for that day.

Do you want to find the perfect gift this Christmas? Then look for Jesus. Do you want to give the perfect gift to God? Then give yourself to Jesus. To you want to give the perfect gift for others? Then bring them to Jesus, bring them to Mass. Jesus awaits us in prayer, in the liturgy, in his Word proclaimed, in the sacraments. Jesus is the perfect gift.

The destruction of our enemies is not the perfect gift. Their conversion and salvation is. The destruction of sinners is not the perfect gift, their conversion and salvation is.

Find the perfect gift this Christmas, find Jesus. Give the perfect gift this Christmas, give Jesus. Give Jesus the perfect gift this Christmas, give him the give of your very self. The perfect gift.