III Advent Sunday

11 december 2022

When John who was in prison heard what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him: «Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? (Matthew 11:3)

In prison, John experiences loneliness, of the difficulty of silence. Maybe in that moment also him expected a “different Messiah”, but Jesus surprises him… and then the doubt arises.

How to live God surprises?

1.  Allow that God goes beyond the ideas that we make of Him. P

In other words: Let yourself be surprised by God!

– Let yourself be surprised by what God is.

• He is a mystery, so I can always know more about Him: “I Am Who I Am!” (Exodus 3:14)

–  Let yourself be surprised by what God does.

• In Creation – “God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31)

• In our sanctification– “And for their sakes I consecrate myself, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.” (John 17:19)

– Let yourself be surprised by how God manifests Himself.

• In Incarnation – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John1:14).

• In Redemption – “He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

– Let yourself be surprised by the madness of love and power of God.

• In the birth of John Baptist and Jesus “for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37)

• In being an instrument of God – “The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and indeed will do even greater ones than these…” (John 14:12)

2. In doubt, let yourself be comforted by the words of God.

The Bible contains 7.487 promises from God to man. Then to John’s question: “«Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? »” (Matthew 11:3) Jesus answers showing that it is in Him that the scripture promises are fulfilled.

– The word of God comforts us.

The word tells us of God’s promises, of His love, of His fidelity, of His mercy! We all have words that are keystones of our lives.  Then read them and re-read them… learn them by heart… repeat them over and over again. Example: Rm 8 18,28,38

– God always keeps His promises.

“Let us remain firm in the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy” (Hebrews10:23)

Here is a small list with some of them:

1. God promised forgiveness through Jesus: “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9)

2. God promised us a new heart: “I will give you a new heart and place spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26)

3. Christ promised us it’s providence: “Rather, seek the kingdom of God and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

4. Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit: “For John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5)

5. God promised us Eternal Life: “And this is the promise he made to us: eternal life”. (1 John 2:25)

– Jesus is the “Living Word” that incarnates the promises of God.

FSS

– In your doubts, talk with Jesus!

– Remember (write) the promises that God made you.

– Be thankful for the promises that God had already delivered in your life.