The One-Who-Is-To-Come Has Come!

 

Deacon Dave · The "One Who Is To Come" Has Come!

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 11, 2022. Isaiah 35:1-6, 10; Gospel of St. Matthew 11:2-11. Theme: The One Who Is To Come Has Come! 

For over a thousand years before the birth of Christ, God’s people awaited the arrival of the Messiah. The prophets foretold that this “One-Who-Is-To-Come” would work great signs and wonders to show that God’s Kingdom was breaking into human history. We heard one of these prophecies in our first reading today from the Book of Isaiah. This is why in response to the question put to him by St. John the Baptist’s disciples, Jesus simply handed them his resume, so to speak. And this resume contained the unmistakable signs of God’s presence and power: the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead are restored to life. 

But you know, these amazing deeds of the One-Who-Is-To-Come have never stopped. Every year, literally hundreds of miracles are reported that confound science and astonish medicine. The Vatican has experts who study these phenomena and they say that these miracles go way beyond natural explanation. But we who believe know the reason why even today the blind see, the crippled walk and the dead are restored to life. We know it is because the One-Who-Is-To-Come has come, and he gives proof that he has never left us! 

For example… Gemma Di Giorgi was born in Sicily. A beautiful baby girl. But minutes after her birth her mother noticed that something just didn’t look right…indeed, Gemma had been born without pupils in her eyes. She had been born blind. When she was 7 her grandmother took her to be prayed over by a holy priest named 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 of St. James in Compostela, Spain. Now, there’s nothing unusual about making that pilgrimage as thousands do so every year. But, before this trek Serge had been confined to a wheelchair, paralyzed and unable to walk. But one day while at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, Serge attended Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Right when he was being blessed with Jesus truly present in the Consecrated Host, he felt heat enter into his pelvis and fire radiate down his legs and out through his toes. Suddenly, he felt compelled to stand up and leave the wheelchair behind. His 1,000-mile walk was a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to the Messiah who set him free! 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 although the pregnancy had been perfectly normal, the child was stillborn. No pulse. No respiration. No movement at all. Imagine that shock and the 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 with prayers. He begged Archbishop Sheen to ask the Risen Lord to give life to his lifeless son. After an hour had passed the attending physician told the parents that he had to call it quits and officially 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 even today the dead are restored to life! 

Even with such miracles and countless more all around us, there are still those who live and think and act as if the One-Who-Is-To-Come never came. Perhaps instead of seeing and hearing what the Messiah has done, they choose to remain blind and deaf because they know that believing will lead to changing. And change can be a very scary thing for many people, including we who already believe. But Advent is a good time to identify whatever in ourselves needs to experience the transforming power of the Messiah. His miracles are signs of the greater wonders he wants to work within us so that he can bring healing to the wounds of our hearts and restore life to the dead places of our souls. 

The Good News that the Church proclaims in today's liturgy of Joyful Sunday is that the One-Who-Is-To-Come has indeed come, and is still among us, especially in the Eucharist. He is ready and willing and able to reach out and touch those who trust in him; who are honest enough to open their minds to the truth about WHO he really is; who are sincere enough to open their eyes to the evidence of WHAT he can do; and who are brave enough to welcome his powerful Presence into their lives.