Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

“St John the Baptist in the Desert”
by Jusepe de Ribera, 1644-47

Readings for Thursday of the Third Week of Advent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 54:1-10
 
Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear,
Break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor,
For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife
than the children of her who has a husband,
says the LORD.
Enlarge the space for your tent,
spread out your tent cloths unsparingly;
lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes.
For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left;
your descendants shall dispossess the nations
and shall people the desolate cities.
 
Fear not, you shall not be put to shame;
you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced.
The shame of your youth you shall forget,
the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.
For he who has become your husband is your Maker;
his name is the LORD of hosts;
Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
A wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.
 
This is for me like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
should never again deluge the earth;
So I have sworn not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.
Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
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Commentary on Is 54:1-10
 
The prophet provides an analogy of the New Zion (New Jerusalem) using the sterile wife image seen many times in Old Testament Scripture (see also Sarah in Genesis 15:2; 16:1, Rachel in Genesis 29:31, Manoah’s wife in Judges 13:2 and Anna in 1 Samuel 1:2). All of these women bore children through God’s special intervention. Likewise, the Heavenly Father would give his special providence to barren Jerusalem if her people return to the faith of their holy forebears. For the Christian, we are also reminded of Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist who brought the last prophet forth from a barren womb to fulfill yet another prophecy.
 
The reference relevant to the Hebrews reflects upon the Babylonian exile (“For a brief moment I abandoned you”). It is understood by the Christian faithful to refer to the New Jerusalem, Zion the Church, God’s heavenly kingdom. In this oracle the prophet speaks of the everlasting covenant that would be the Messiah (Galatians 4:27).
 
CCC: Is 54 1611; Is 54:8 220; Is 54:10 220
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
 
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
 
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
 
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
 
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
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Commentary on Ps 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
 
Psalm 30 is an individual hymn of praise. In this selection we find the singer praising God for deliverance. In the second part, others are asked to join in the hymn and then there is a return to thanks and praise in the final strophe. The image of resurrection is clearly evident in the first strophe: “O Lord, you brought me up from the netherworld; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.”
 
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Gospel: Luke 7:24-30
 
When the messengers of John the Baptist had left,
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 garments?
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:
 
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.
 
I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors,
who were baptized with the baptism of John,
acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law,
who were not baptized by him,
rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
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Commentary on Lk 7:24-30
 
St. Luke records the aftermath of Jesus’ discourse with the disciples of St. John the Baptist. The description uses almost identical language to that in Matthew 11:8-11. Jesus asks the rhetorical question: “What did you go out to the desert to see...?” His question implies that those who now follow him (Jesus) once followed the Baptist. Jesus reaffirms the prophetic status of St. John, confirming that it was of him the prophet Malachi was speaking as he quoted from Malachi 3:1 [and Exodus 23:20]. As in St. Matthew's Gospel, the Lord tells those that follow him that the Baptist is the greatest person living “born of woman.” Yet, those who are faithful and join the angelic choirs in the Kingdom of God are greater than he, indicating the exalted status of the faithful in God’s eyes.
 
The passage concludes with a parenthetic reference to those so exalted in faith (having repented their sins in the baptism of St. John), and those condemned, the Pharisees and scholars who felt no need of repentance and therefore rejected baptism.
 
CCC: Lk 7:26 523, 719
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Reflection:
 
If the words of the Gospel sound familiar, it is because we have heard them before in this Advent Season.  However, they came from St. Matthew’s Gospel, not St. Luke’s.  After the disciples of St. John, the Baptist had asked Jesus to confirm his identity as the Messiah, and had received their answer and left, Jesus turned to the crowds and confirmed that the predictions of the prophets were being fulfilled in their presence.  He challenged their image of what a prophet should be.  His words fell on the Pharisees and scribes present like hammer blows. 
 
Someone dressed in fine garments?
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
 
They were the supposed custodians of faith.  They were the ones in fine garments, living in fine houses.  Jesus essentially told the people gathered that they would not find the true revelation of God’s will with them.
 
The Evangelist’s words come to us as we walk upon our Advent journey as well.  As we dash from store to store, or from party to party, the question echoes in our ears: “What did you go out to see?”  Our constant reminder is that the Lord came humbly, without fanfare, to a tiny stable in a dinky village.  He does not love the attitudes of conceit or pride, but rather repentance and a sincere offering of a contrite heart.
 
Our entire Advent journey culminates in a birthday that reminds us that God has sent us a gift that allows our change of heart to mean something.  Without the Lord, our contrition would serve nothing.  Today we rejoice once more.  Our plea for forgiveness has been answered and the gates of heaven are open.  We are reminded of what we have come to see.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “St John the Baptist in the Desert” by Jusepe de Ribera, 1644-47.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.