The One Who Is To Come Has Come!

The Catholic Liturgy for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 15, 2019. Gospel of Matthew 11:2-11. Theme: The One Who Is To Come Has Come!

St. John the Baptist calls Jesus by a very odd sounding name in today’s Gospel.  He calls him “The One Who Is To Come”.  While that name might sound cryptic and strange to us, God’s people knew exactly who he was referring to. You see, about 500 years before the birth of Christ, Israel was invaded by enemies and their nation was destroyed. There was blood and violence throughout the land.  Most of the upper were taken away as captives and they lived in this exile for over 70 years.

The prophets of Israel had foretold this tragedy (today’s first reading from Isaiah makes reference to it).  But they also spoke out about the arrival of a great and awesome hero, a mighty Deliverer, who would restore hope in their lives and would usher in God’s Kingdom of peace and justice.  They gave this mysterious future figure many titles and names such as Messiah, Promised Savior, Shepherd-King, and the one we hear today:  “The One Who Is To Come”. The prophets prophesied that great signs and wonders would be unmistakable signs of his arrival and that through him God’s Kingdom, that is, his presence and power, would burst into human history.

And indeed, the gospels are full of true stories about Jesus doing these very things.  However, the awesome deeds and miraculous happenings of the One-Who-Is-To-Come, his role as Healer and Savior, were not meant to be something limited to just the Jewish nation or just to past history.  He himself promised that he would continue working these signs and wonders through his followers until he returned to planet Earth a second time. 

And, as a matter of fact, literally hundreds of miracles are reported to the Church every year.  And this has been the case for centuries. These reports are meticulously documented and scrutinized by scientists and physicians.  The Church does not fear investigation nor the truth, and so those among those who study the alleged miracles professionals who are not biased and who are not people of faith as a vital part of the process.

These inexplicable and amazing events that confound science and astonish medicine are signs that The One Who Is To Come is still doing what we heard in today’s gospel: the blind see; the crippled walk; and the dead are restored to life.

Gemma Di Giorgi was born in Sicily. A beautiful baby girl. But minutes after her birth her mother noticed that something didn’t seem right…indeed, Gemma had been born without pupils in her eyes. Born blind. When she was 7 her grandmother took her to be blessed by the famous St. Padre Pio. He asked the Risen Lord Jesus to give little Gemma the gift of sight. And that’s exactly what happened even though to the astonishment of science and medicine, she still lacked pupils! How could this be? Because The One Who Is To Come has come and so the blind can see!

Serge Francoise recently completed a 1,000-mile walk, a pilgrimage along the famous Camino or Way of St. James in Compostella, Spain. Now, there’s nothing unusual about making that pilgrimage as thousands of pilgrims do so every year. But, before this trek Serge, was confined to a wheelchair, paralyzed in his left leg and unable to walk.  But one day while at the shrine of Lourdes in France, Serge received the blessing of the Risen Lord Jesus truly present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Right when he was being blessed with the Sacred Consecrated Host, he felt heat enter into his pelvis and radiate down his leg and out his toes. He stood up and left the wheelchair behind.  His 1,000-mile walk was a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to the God who heals the lame! How could this be? Because The One Who Is To Come has come and so the lame can walk!

In Peoria, a mother was in labor and though the pregnancy had been normal, the child was stillborn. No pulse. No respiration. No movement. Imagine that shock and grief! The doctors and nurses tried frantically to force life into the child by all known medical means. The boy’s dad, who was very devoted to the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen began to storm heaven for prayers. He begged Archbishop Sheen in heaven to ask the Risen Lord Jesus to give life to his son. Almost an hour passed and the physician told the parents that he had to call it quits and declare the baby’s death.  Just as he began to fill out the death certificate little James Engstrom, stillborn 61 minutes earlier with absolutely no medically detectable signs of life, began to cry and kick and scream!  Today he is a perfectly fine and normal little boy. How could this be? Because The One Who Is To Come has come and so the dead are restored to life!

And yet so many people, even among those who were once baptized, live and think and act as though The One Who Is To Come never came, as if that first Christmas when he was born never happened.  Perhaps on some level they choose to be blind and deaf to these signs because they have a sense that encountering Jesus will demand a change…and that can be very scary for many people. 

But there’s no need for us to be afraid of The One Who Is To Come, because as the prophet Isaiah tells us today, encountering him should cause us to rejoice and look forward to what he can do and wants to do in each of our lives. The One Who Is To Come is ready and willing and eager to touch and transform those who open their minds to the truth about WHO he really is…who open their eyes to the evidence of WHAT he can do…and who open their hearts to the transforming power of His love.