On the one hand, the season of Advent is a season of joy and hopeful
anticipation as we approach Christmas; on the other hand, it is filled with
sober reminders of what will happen when the Lord comes. The prophets are
particularly sensitive to this paradox.
St. John the Baptist certainly knew the ups and downs associated with the Lord’s coming. His whole prophetic mission was focused on it. He had spent years in the desert preparing; he fearlessly rebuked the religious leaders as a brood of vipers and called out the king for his adulterous behavior; he had seen the heavens opened and the Spirit descending like a dove; and finally, he was bound in prison for his witness to the truth with only his conscience for company.
St. John the Baptist certainly knew the ups and downs associated with the Lord’s coming. His whole prophetic mission was focused on it. He had spent years in the desert preparing; he fearlessly rebuked the religious leaders as a brood of vipers and called out the king for his adulterous behavior; he had seen the heavens opened and the Spirit descending like a dove; and finally, he was bound in prison for his witness to the truth with only his conscience for company.
Someone
might think that Jesus would do something to assist John. But when
his disciples bring John’s question to Jesus, that is, whether Jesus is the one
who is to come, Jesus doesn’t send a rescue squad. He doesn’t offer words of
sympathy. He simply relates the works that he has been doing and allows John
to complete his glorious witness.
Jesus goes on to speak to the crowds about John, and higher praise could hardly
be given. John is the messenger sent before the face of the Lord to
prepare his way. He’s not a reed swayed by the wind. If there is any example of
someone standing firm in the truth, it is John – and under what conditions! I
can only imagine John repeating to himself over and over again the words of
Isaiah: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are
weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is
your God!”
Jesus concludes with the puzzling statement: “Among those born of women there
is none greater than John the Baptist.” It is hard to know
what the rest of the statement means: “…yet the least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he.” One thing is clear: now that John is in the kingdom of heaven, there are very few who are closer to God
than he. John prepared the way of the Lord, and we are all his beneficiaries.
I would like to mention one other prophet in the context of Advent – a
modern prophet – St. John Henry Newman. Newman, too, knew the paradox of being
a prophet of the Lord. He had been one of the most influential Anglicans of the
1800’s; but his prayer and study led him to a perplexing question. Just as John
had found it necessary to ask the Lord if he were the one who was to come,
Newman was led by to ask something similar, but with a slight twist if I may so
phrase it: “Are you she who is to
come, or should we wait for another?” He meant the Catholic Church. Was the
Lord’s coming inseparable from her coming? Was she the Bride of Christ? When Newman
reached the conclusion that she was, he asked to be received into the Church. His
adherence to this truth and to the voice of his conscience cost him dearly, but
he stood firm, and now he is a guide for countless believers.
What do these two great prophets have to do with us? How do we fit into this puzzle
which is Advent? The coming of the Lord is near, but so is his Paschal Mystery.
The prophets patiently awaited and prepared the way for the Lord, and we must too. We, both monks and laity, have a prophetic mission in the Church. As monks
we rarely see whether we are making any difference in the world. We are hidden
away in the bosom of the Church. Our prophetic mission is to go continuously
before the face of the Lord and ponder his majesty and lowliness. We must
witness to the truth in our communal life, often in the darkness of faith. Like
the Eucharist we are about to receive, so hidden from the eyes of the world,
let us stand firm hidden yet prophetic in the bosom of the
Church and rejoice in the Lord always!
Photograph by Father Emmanuel. Excerpts from Father Vincent's homily for Gaudete Sunday.