OMELIE / Omelie EN

26/6/2016

11/12/2016 – 3rd Sunday of advent - A

11/12/2016 – 3rd Sunday of advent - A

1st reading Isaiah 35,1-6.8.10 * from Psalm 145 * 2nd James 5,7-10 * Gospel Matthew 11,2-11

“The desert and the parched land will exult; the wilderness will rejoice and bloom”: this is the invitation with which the liturgy opened today. It is an invitation to joy. The desert and the wilderness are places without life or where life is difficult and heavy. The invitation to joy is for those who suffer, for those who do not have any human perspectives to be survive, for “those whose hearts are frightened” and for all the persons who live in every kind of suffering. Why should these people must enjoy and exalt? Why is it possible to say to them: “Courage, do not be afraid”? The answer of the prophet is decisive and assured: “Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God. He is coming to save you”. God himself will get into the way to meet the man who is suffering, even if the man suffers because of the sin of the world and because of his own participation to it. God makes the revenge to our enemies so we may return to him without fear and without hesitation. God himself will come to save!

The apostle James today echoes the prophet Isaiah. For four times he uses the term “constant – patient”, to tell us how the Christian should be. The Christian struggles, there are a lot of difficulties, those that come from the defects and the sins of the brothers and other Christians. But he cannot doubt and cannot lament, he patiently suffers and bears because the Lord will come, he will come to save.

Saying “God saves” is mentioning the name of Jesus!   This name starts to be sounded, moving from mouth to mouth. Even John the Baptist pronounced it from his prison. John is there for his fidelity to God. Why God does not come to save him from the hands of Herod? Why, who has indicated the Lamb of God, now suffers injustices? Where is the salvation promised by the name
“Jesus”? We do not know if it is John himself or if there were his disciples who formulated such questions about the identity of Jesus. But John, does not want to keep hidden these questions to who who form them: he sends his disciples directly to Jesus to ask for help, to have an answer. Who else can answer them? To whom can give confidence? The disciples of John ask to Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come?”. And the Lord who loves the freedom of man, invites them to be aware themselves in person, to be attentive to what is happening, to reflect on that which they see, so that they will be able to say that they have seen with their own eyes and to have heard in person. In this way they will not report to John the affirmation of another person, neither if this person is Jesus, but they will give their own testimony.

What do they need to see those who are sent by John? They can see with their own eyes how the prophecies of Scriptures come true. One cannot doubt of these, and if what they announce about the Messiah comes true, then it is sign that the Messiah is present. What is happening to the blind, lame, to the lepers, to the bling and even to the dead? And the poor will not start to be in joy for the announcement of what they have heard? In the book of Isaiah these things are written and now the disciples can see them. From Jesus all receive the certainty that the Scriptures will be realized, that God does not lie, that we can trust him. Jesus, does not give scandal, he does not hinder the faith in the word of God transmitted by the prophets in the Scriptures, rather, the presence of Jesus, his word and his hand realize these.

The disciples of John return to the prison of their master. And Jesus exalts at his predecessor who suffers. John has been a witness and now even in prison he is still a witness. He did not fall to the temptations of the world, he did not fall to the desires of the rich and the powerful, but rather, he let himself be broken in order to be faithful to that God who spoke to him. The word of John was precious because he has prepared the hearts to accept and welcome Jesus: “the one who must come” for the salvation of humanity.

John is truly a huge figure, and no one equals him. And you who believes and thus goes to Jesus with trust to accept him and obey, are bigger than John. But you continue to thank John for his fidelity and patience! Your joy will become bigger and more stable. Your heart will not be anymore a desert, but it will continue to produce flowers and fruits of charity as saint James told us. Then our joy will extend itself to the brothers, to the family, to the community and to the wilderness around us, to all those who surround us.

Jesus, we do not expect any more, we do not wait anyone: you are with us; speak, and we will listen to you!