December 14: The Day of the Lord / El Día del Señor

The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent (Matthew 11, 2-11) provides Jesus’ response to a question posed by St. John the Baptist: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus could have told St. John’s delegates, “Go read Isaiah 35!” Instead, He quotes Isaiah 35 for them: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ‘the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.’”

When St. John was struggling and wondering about how long it was taking for the Kingdom of God to show itself, and how long it was taking for God to act, Jesus told him and his followers to look around, to read the signs, to look at the evidence all around them. Apparently, they were not looking around well enough. Is that true for us, too?

Things are happening all around us today, but in our impatience, we often miss them. Medical discoveries are allowing people to live longer; many of us see clearly because cataracts have been removed. Every day, our neighbors are feeding hungry people right here in our neighborhood. Missionaries (or Peace Corps volunteers) are leaving their homes and families to go thousands of miles away to show love and concern for others. Teachers sacrifice greater salaries and opportunities to help our children in our parish school develop their potential. Every one of these examples, and there are countless more, reveal the presence of the Kingdom and the action of Christ among us. In the week to come, let’s be sure to “look around!”

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Las lecturas del Adviento nos han dicho que el anuncio de la Buena Noticia de Dios denuncia las situaciones de injusticia de nuestro mundo. El valor para desafiar a los poderosos viene del mismo Dios que está implantando su Reino, derribando del trono a los poderosos y colmando de bienes a los pobres.

Jesús mismo nos dice (Mateo 11, 2-11): “¡Y dichoso el que no se escandalice de mí!” La actividad de Jesús es signo de contradicción. Provoca la fe y el escándalo. Son muchos, creyentes y no creyentes, los que se rasgan las vestiduras ante el recuerdo de los pobres, necesitados, y humildes de nuestro mundo. Son ellos los que afean ese mundo fascinante que presenta la televisión. Son ellos los que nos recuerdan que este sistema no funciona, que es tremendamente injusto. 

Mientras los economistas dirán que no hay otras alternativas, la Fe nos dice que tiene que haberlas, que Dios no puede querer un mundo como el que hemos organizado.  Los pobres están teniendo mucha paciencia (Santiago 5, 7-10), porque saben que nadie les puede robar la esperanza de ser los preferidos de Dios. Que la celebración de la Eucaristía hoy nos lleva a poner a los pobres en el centro de la atención espiritual de la Iglesia.