The Third Sunday of Advent
Year A 

The Coming of God's Kingdom: 
The Blind See, the Lame Walk, the Deaf Hear ...

Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10; The Magnificat; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

There is a classic Peanuts Cartoon where Lucy tells Charlie Brown that she has convinced Schroeder that her religion is better than his.  "How did you do that?" asks Charlie.  "I hit him over the head with my lunch pail!" She replies.  I find it very funny, until I start to think about it.  Then I realize that it is only too true.  So much in our world operates in the same way that Lucy does.  We hold fast to our opinions and refuse to budge. 

We live in a world where Moslem and Jew, Moslem and Christian, Christian and Jew, and sadly even Christian and Christian fight with one another.  We hit each other over the head with our proverbial lunch pails all the while proclaiming that ours is the only true way.  Wars are fought with both sides claiming, "God is on our side".  Force is the way we get our opinions across. 

That is not new in our world.  It is a timeless situation.  It is there in the story of John the Baptist.  John heard from prison what Jesus was doing.  "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"  Jesus was not meeting John's expectations.  He was falling short of what John had looked for in a Messiah.  He expected that the coming of the Messiah would mean an immediate change.  He fully expected that it would happen by force.  Did he imagine that God would send a warrior on a white steed who would lead an army against the Roman forces?  What a disappointment Jesus must have been with his message of love and compassion!

Jesus sends word back to John.  It is not what John wants to hear.  "The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed," Jesus says.  That is good news.  What could be better for those who are suffering?  What could be better for those who are hurting?  Yet John cannot even begin to understand how such events could possibly herald the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour.  When you have a preconceived notion of what to expect it is very difficult to change your mind.  When all you see around you are signs of death and trouble how do you even begin to recognize God's kingdom breaking through?

Like Lucy and John the Baptist many of us see force as the way to bring about change.  You can discern it in comments that you hear.  The government should use power more efficiently.  The death penalty is a good thing.  Use force to put an end to terrorism.  In our personal lives it may be subtle but it is there nonetheless.  "Because I'm the teacher, or the pastor, or the parent may be such an answer.  Yet we know that to continue to tolerate those who practice violence on any level is wrong.  We need to challenge the system or risk not living out our Christian faith.  Do you ever ask yourself, how can the Prince of Peace find a home in the centre of my life if I continue to condone practices that romanticize the power of violence?  How do we change those structures of violence and abuse into God’s healing power at work in the lives of people?

Everything about the Christian story teaches that real change comes from within.  Rebirth comes from within our hearts, from within our lives and families.  That is why Jesus’ ministry worked.  Those who found themselves in Jesus’ presence were reborn.  They were healed.  The lame walked, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, the poor heard good news.  Change took place in people’s lives, and what a different kind of change it was.  Humanity was getting healed. 

It is the kind of transformation that Isaiah dreamed about.  He was speaking to people who had been led in chains across a hot, dry desert.  They lived as conquered people in an alien land.  “What will it be like when God rescues us?” they asked.  And Isaiah gave them a vision.  The deserts will come to life.  Where there is only sand and dust flowers will bloom.  This whole desert will become a forest.  There will be fresh springs of water.  They will transform this arid waste into a haven for people, for animals.  Wilderness will be transformed into lush farmland.  Your crops will flourish.  God will re-create new life for God’s people. 

Advent is a time of renewal and transformation in the Church year.  It is a time to be spiritually prepared for Christmas.  It is a time for the wilderness to be brought to new life.  There are many people who need that kind of transformation in their lives.  This is not the easiest of seasons for everyone.  It is a season that brings with it great expectations, often much higher than we can hope for.   People lay heavy expectations on family and friends.  They have high expectations and excitement about gifts and about all the hype of Christmas.  When it does not pan out, disappointment takes over.  This is often a season of despair, loneliness and depression.  Whose hands need strengthening this Advent?  Whose knees need to be made firm again?  Where is fear taking hold?  Where is hope fading?  Who needs to hear that message of salvation that God will come and save us?  Whose sorrow needs to be turned to joy? 

We need to go where Jesus goes.  We need to do what Jesus does – serving, healing, helping, and sharing out in the world.  Christ can speak to us as we meet new challenges and difficulties in this highly technological age of space and computers.  He can lead us as we struggle to work our way through the confusion and loneliness of our age.  He will be with us as we face growing apathy and cynicism toward our Christian values and way of life.  He will be with us as we reach out to those in need. 

Our task during this Advent season is to let Christ come more fully into our lives.  It is to share with others the joy of his presence by our concern for the suffering and the poor.  It is to embrace this wilderness time and use it as a time to grow spiritually so that the wilderness rejoices and blossoms.  It is to embrace the good news that God's kingdom of shalom is breaking in, that change is taking place and that humanity is getting healed.  It is to live our lives in Christ.  It is to see Christ in those we meet.  It is to prepare the way of the Lord. 

John sadly missed the most important thing about God’s coming.  Let us be prepared for Christ to be born in us.