3rd Sunday of Advent, Dec.

11, 2011 (Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 10-28) Isaiah announces glad tidings to the poor and the brokenhearted. He issues a proclamation of liberty to captives and release to prisoners. It is not a governmental plan to empty prisons in answer to a budget crisis. It is the Lord God who is doing this for captive Israel, as the Babylonian Exile is about to end. The prophet can hardly contain his excitement and joy at the prospect of deliverance. The Responsorial is actually not from Psalms as is usually the case, but is taken from Lukes Gospel Canticle of Mary, in response to Elizabeths greeting during the Visitation. Marys prayer is written under the influence of the Old Testament. Each line is either from I Samuel, one of the Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Job or Micah. Fr. Fitzmyer illustrates this clearly in his Anchor Bible Commentary on Luke (pp. 356-357). Mark has no Infancy Narrative. Because the Visitation is such a key part of the Infancy Narrative in Luke, Marys prayer is used here as the responsorial, as we draw closer to the Christmas season. The second reading from Paul to the Thessalonians is chosen because of the theme of the Third Sunday of Advent, otherwise known as Gaudete (or Rejoice) Sunday. Joy is the theme of this Sunday and Paul reminds the Thessalonians that joy should be the Christians constant companion. Prayer is also critical (Pray without ceasing). And Paul adds to give thanks in all circumstances. At times we can only wonder what he meant when he delivered the classic line: Test everything; retain what is good. We might also wonder if anyone ever lives by that advice. It may be particularly difficult this Advent to rejoice what with the troubled economy, and wars in Africa, and elsewhere, and other such things that try the soul. But Paul reminds us to keep praying, which is the only refuge we have. Finally we note the arrival on the scene of John (the Baptist) and the unique way in which he is presented in the Gospel according to John (not the Baptist). The Baptist is clearly presented as one who came to testify to the light, but who himself was not the light. When the Baptist is grilled by priests and Levites about his own identity, he answers forthrightly, albeit confusedly: He admitted and did not deny it but admitted, I am not the Christ. Here the pejorative use of the Jews occurs for the first of seventy times in John to refer to those religious leaders who were hostile to Jesus. It is limited here by the designation of priests and Levites. Johns testimony itself is negative about himself: I am not the Christ. Whether this is meant to infer that another is Messiah is debated by scholars. Whether or why John speaks of himself in this way is not clear. It is also unclear

whether John the Baptist ever testified that Jesus was Messiah, although Jn. 3:28-29 comes pretty close. The questions continue: Are you Elijah? Are you the Prophet? Who then are you? Finally John answers who he is: I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord. If that sounds familiar it is because we had Marks use of the phrase in last weeks Gospel. It was an ideal passage to apply to John the Baptist in his role as forerunner to Jesus and all four Gospels use this Isaiah passage in this context. Thus the stage is set for the Fourth Sunday of Advents focus on the arrival of Jesus in the Visitation. Fr. Lawrence Hummer