Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

Today’s Gospel: Luke 7:18B-23

Jesus chose not to give the disciples of John the Baptist a direct answer. They had asked if He were the one who is to come or not, and Jesus does not tell them directly. Rather, he points to the signs of His Presence, the works that He has been sent by the Father to do. 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. These signs are reassuring, they point out to us that the promises made to Isaiah and all the prophets are being fulfilled in Jesus the Lord. We can turn to the Lord and be safe, for He has won the victory for us, and we can trust that our God is indeed the just and saving God revealed by Isaiah.

These signs of Jesus also disturb us, because they confront us with a demanding choice, just as they did for John and his disciples. In seeing the signs that the Lord does, we are confronted with the stark choice of how we wish to respond: will we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and live our lives accordingly; or will we choose an easier path, a path that leads somewhere other than the cross?

Copyright Fr. Scott Nolan

Fr. Scott Nolan is a priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, MI. He currently serves in the city of Grand Rapids as the Associate Pastor of the Basilica of St. Adalbert, St. James Church, and St. Mary parish. He is also the chaplain of West Catholic High School.