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December 15,
2013 – 3rd Sunday of Advent "A"
Is
35,1-6a.10 ; Jc 5,7-10 ; Mt 11,2-11
Ananda Matha Ashram, Kerala,
India
H O M I L Y
(Solemn monastic profession of Sister Lucy)
The
third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as the “Sunday of Joy” (Gaudete Sunday); and the first reading, from
the Book of the prophet Isaiah, is an invitation to exult with joy because of
all that the Lord is going to do for his people. It is therefore a wonderful day for a solemn
profession, in which we celebrate the fact that God has consecrated a person to
His service and also the fact that the same person has
accepted to consecrate herself to Him in response. Our reason for rejoicing,
however, are much greater than what happens to any of us. We all rejoice
because Jesus has brought salvation – not only to us but – to the whole people.
When John the
Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him: "Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for another one?",
is John struggling with a moment of darkness and doubt, or, as some pious commentators say, does he simply want to use this
means to transfer his disciples to Jesus? The text of the Gospel does not permit us to give a clear answer to that
question. In reality, that explanation
is not important, because what is at the centre of this narrative is not John
with his question but Jesus with his answer.
This is one of
the most beautiful pages of the Gospel. The real question is: "When God enters
human history, what are the authentic signs of his action? If the kingdom of God has really arrived,
what are its authentic manifestations?"
In Jesus's time
as in our time, there were several religious manifestations that could
legitimately be considered as signs of the presence of God's kingdom: there was the Temple; first
of all, there was the Law, the sacrifices, the official worship, the
prayers, the fasting, the precepts of the Sabbath, etc.
What is
remarkable in Jesus' response is that he does not mention any of these
traditional signs of God's presence, as manifestations of the kingdom. He sees
such manifestations in events that apparently do not have a religious
dimension, profane events that are not mentioned in
books of theology.
First of all, we must be
attentive to his first words: "Go and tell John what you have heard and seen. What did they hear and see? That people began to be freed from old forms of servitude and were restored to
their human dignity. Blind saw again,
cripple walked, lepers were healed, deft heard, dead were risen, and the good
news was announced to the poor . . . "
Jesus does not
make a discourse about liberation. He
simply enumerates facts, tangible human realities. He translates in concrete facts what he
considers to be the clearest expressions of God's
will, of God's kingdom, of the kingdom of human dignity to which every human
being has a right.
Where is God's
kingdom? One has to be blind not to see
it. Where human persons move from less
human to more human conditions, there is God's
action, there is his Kingdom. All the
rest is literature. To hear and
to see, says Jesus. If I want to
know what type of a Christian I am, the first thing I must do is to see whether
my actions help the persons around me to become gradually more liberated from
any form of lack of freedom, whether internal or external, from any subtle -- or
even not so subtle -- form of oppression.
As Christians,
that is, as disciples of Christ, we are called to
proclaim the good news. There is no true
news, however, without facts. News
without a fact is false news, a lie. We
have the responsibility to make the Kingdom of God present in today's world,
wherever we are. If we proclaim it with
words without realizing it with actions, we are liars. This is what Jesus means when he says: "Blessed the one who will not be scandalized
about me."
Finally, the last
sentence of Jesus: "The most little one in the kingdom of heavens is
greater than he" was interpreted by Jesus himself during the Last Supper,
shortly before his death, when he invited his
disciples not to seek honours, privileges, prestige or power. Only the little ones, the humble ones bring
about the Kingdom of God and enter it.
Of course, we
know that there is only one human being, smaller than John,
and for that reason greater that he was. It is she who could sing: "My soul glorifies the
Lord . . . because he has looked upon the humility of
his servant."
Mary's example
reminds us that if we want to bring freedom to the world, we must bear it first of all in our own existence, becoming "little
ones," renouncing our desires for fame, honour, prestige or power.
Dear
sister Lucy, Jesus has manifested the presence of his Kingdom in your own life
in many ways. One of them is that he has
called you to this small monastic community. Not everything has been easy in
your long journey in and with that community. There have been moments of
sadness, but deep down you always had the joy of hearing a call and, with God’s
grace, of being able to answer that call. By joining this way of life you have become a
poor, in many ways. And by accepting this fact, through your monastic consecration, you proclaim that
the Good News has been announced to the poor and, therefore that the Kingdom of
God is at hand.
I
therefore invite you to proclaim that Good News, by pronouncing your monastic
vows in the hands of your abbess.
Armand Veilleux
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