Isaiah 35:1-6a,10
2 James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:
2-11
For years, my wife and I would
return to her family home in Spokane during the holidays and we’d always have a
great expectation for a big snow storm. The kind Mary experienced as a child
growing up in eastern Washington. The kind I experienced a few times as a young
boy growing up here in the Puget Sound area and several times while in college
in Pullman.
Our great expectation was to go
home, spend time with family at the holidays, and experience a giant snow
storm.
But, alas, it never happened. In
all years we would go to Spokane at Christmas to visit with Mary’s dad, mom, sister and brother, big snow
would be in the forecast. But it would never fall.
What great expectation do you have
in our life?
A peace-filled Christmas season? Reconciliation
with an estranged loved one? A cure for a disease your spouse is battling?
John the Baptist had a great
expectation, too. As the herald of the
Messiah, his great expectation was that Jesus would be the chosen one to unite
and lead Israel and bring about the reign of God.
John declared to the people, “I am
baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is
mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”
John knew his whole life that
Jesus was the Messiah. He even knew in the womb.
Yet, this week, we see an
imprisoned John, depressed and disillusioned and wondering if, in fact, Jesus
is the chosen one. Many Jews in John’s time were expecting a great political
or military leader. Jesus is anything but.
John’s
Father Zechariah understood the joy of so great a salvation as he penned his
powerful Canticle foretelling his son’s and Jesus’s role in our salvation
history. This is the son he thought he’d
never have. Zechariah and wife Elizabeth are rewarded for their patience.
A
year after his diagnosis, we gathered in Spokane on Jack’s final Christmas and
celebrated as a complete family one last time together. It was a beautiful,
joy-filled gathering. One we all will remember
forever.
On
the morning of New Year’s Eve day, the snow began to fall, and fall, and
fall. By noon, it was a near whiteout
blizzard; dumping like we’d never seen before.
Over the course of 18 hours, nearly three feet of snow piled up in
Spokane.
The
big snow lifted our spirits allowing us the grace to experience faith, hope and
love as we commended Jack’s soul to our heavenly father at his funeral a few
days later.
Jesus
echoes today’s first reading from Isaiah to remind John (and all of us) what the reign of God looks like:
“the blind regain sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed
to them”
Merciful
healings, wholeness and re-creation of all things; Jesus reminds us to look for
all these signs to see what the reign of God looks like in our own lives.
Scholars
say, “Jesus defines his role as not of sovereignty or judgment, as expected,
but as one of blessing on the needy.”
 |
Blessing on the needy is how Jesus – how God – shows His love
for us.
We are all needy or poor in spirit at times… in desperate need of God’s love. Many times God comforts us in beautiful ways.
When the
Kingdom breaks into our human existence – God’s intervention is seen in wondrous
things. This is a saving God who brings new life. The one referred to by the Prophet
Isaiah today.
Just as “the
desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom,”
God’s love for us dawns in our lives in radiant beauty.
Not
that we will be cured of our physical ailments. But we will find comfort. And
we will see wondrous things!
The
Letter of Saint James reminds us we must both be patient and prepared for the
coming of the Lord.
John’s
Father Zechariah understood the joy of so great a salvation as he penned his
powerful Canticle foretelling his son’s and Jesus’s role in our salvation
history. This is the son he thought he’d
never have. Zechariah and wife Elizabeth are rewarded for their patience.
This
is what he said in his Canticle, a prayer prayed by all Catholic clergy,
religious and some laity every day in our morning prayer:
“You, my child, shall be called the
prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God,
the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
At first glance, you might think this passage is about great
expectations parents have for their child. But if you look closer you will see
it’s really about the great expectations people have for God.
The coming birth of Jesus is the dawn of God's reign.
Dawn is coming. And
darkness will be driven away soon by a holy light.
In November of 2002, Mary’s dad Jack was
diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. He was given just a few months to
live.
But
those few months miraculously turned
into an entire year allowing Jack’s family to show their great love for him and
say goodbye.
A
year after his diagnosis, we gathered in Spokane on Jack’s final Christmas and
celebrated as a complete family one last time together. It was a beautiful,
joy-filled gathering. One we all will remember
forever.
As
we said our final goodbye and left Spokane a few days after Christmas, Jack
went to bed and never woke up again. He died on December 29th, 2003.
We
got the news the day after we drove home and immediately piled our two sons
back into the car to return home to Spokane.
We
arrived to a house filled with great darkness, sadness and pain.
As
we started planning the funeral, the weather forecast suddenly changed. Snow
was coming our way. Meteorologists were predicting a major snow storm. We tried
not to get our hopes up.
On
the morning of New Year’s Eve day, the snow began to fall, and fall, and
fall. By noon, it was a near whiteout
blizzard; dumping like we’d never seen before.
Over the course of 18 hours, nearly three feet of snow piled up in
Spokane.
We
took our boys to a favorite sledding spot behind
nearby Whitworth College for the first time. As Mary, sons Sean and Connor, sister
Beth and brother Danny cascaded down the steep hill, we all rejoiced in this
long awaited great expectation of big snow.
It’s one of our most cherished family
memories. And it was a light that came during a time of great darkness, a time
we were comforted by our loving God in a breathtaking way.
The
big snow lifted our spirits allowing us the grace to experience faith, hope and
love as we commended Jack’s soul to our heavenly father at his funeral a few
days later.
On this Gaudete Sunday, as we rejoice in the
expected coming of baby Jesus, may your great expectations be fulfilled. May you find what you are seeking in the
coming of our Lord and savior. May you
experience the loving comfort of God in your time of need.
And
may the coming birth of the Messiah be a reminder that love is the greatest
expectation of them all. And Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s great love for
us.
