Third Sunday of Advent – Year B
December 17, 2023
Gospel Lectionary Text
John 1:6-8, 19-28
1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
1:7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
1:8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
1:19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
1:20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah."
1:21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."
1:22 Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
1:23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.
1:24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
1:25 They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
1:26 John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know,
1:27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."
1:28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Context
Welcome to the third week of Advent. Having waited in the apocalypse and the wilderness, we now stand outside the promiseland, waiting to cross over. Origen, the third-century church father, termed “Bethany across the Jordan” as the “House of the Crossing,” evoking the imagery of Israelites crossing the Jordan into the promiseland.
So we wait alongside untold millions who live beyond the Jordan, waiting to cross over. And of course, the text provides the path for the crossing. Theologically speaking, the only way to cross over the river is to go under the water. This marks the baptismal journey, and is the invitation of this week’s text. We are all invited to undergo the baptismal journey of dying to all that is false, so that we may rise to all that is true.
Question
In what ways do you feel cut off and outside of the promiseland, and how are you being invited to renew your baptismal vows?
Reflections
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
A Future Not Our Own
by Dan Clendenin
It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
Prayer
Coming soon.
