In the Desert, Life is Hard - Reflection 3rd Sunday Advent

In the Desert, Life is Hard

Readings 3rd Sunday Advent

When we think of a desert we think of a dry and barren land. In most cases, we think of a desert as a sea of sand as far as the eye can see. The desert tends to encroach on fertile ground.  

There is a lot of symbolism in the fact that John the Baptist preached in the desert.  John preached to those in a spiritual desert, a dry and barren relationship with God.

The truth is that in the desert, life is hard. 

In today’s gospel, John finds himself in a place worse than the physical desert, Herrod’s prison. Yet, John is still seeking the truth. Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?

Jesus sent this answer: Go and tell John what you hear and see:  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 things Jesus did as he traveled about Galilee. Prophesy John would have preached. Jesus’ answer recalled the words of the prophet Isaiah – “they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.”

“Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God; he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing."

Jesus is the glory and splendor of God. He is bringing the glory and splendor of God to the desert.  

Still today, the world is full of spiritual deserts. The Lumen Gentium (the dogmatic constitution of the Church) states that the pilgrim church bears a likeness to the passing world. The pilgrim church is all of us. Our tiny part of this world reflects the larger world. People struggle with a spiritual desert created by the secular culture. Humanity's spiritual desert is sparse of love and forgiveness.  And in that, our interior life (our tiny part of the world) is trying to be overtaken by a place that is dry and barren of prayer and a relationship with God.

In a spiritual desert, life is hard. 

So, often it is in the desert where God’s salvation is seen. Just like the desert that John preached in and like the spiritual desert that exists in the world today. “Lord, come and save us…” You hear the cry of the poor; the small, the broken, the weak, the needy will be renewed.  

The world is waiting for promised renewal that Isaiah spoke: this desert will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.

That promised renewal is here and has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Even today, that renewal is fulfilled in Christ through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that moves the Church and each of our hearts to fulfill the renewing promise of Christ by our lives here on earth.  

Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. We are to do the work of renewal that God the Father and Christ has entrusted to us. Go and tell what you hear and see … proclaim the good news.

In the good news of Jesus Christ, we find salvation, our true renewal. People hear that the coming of the Lord is at hand, and look somewhere else for renewal in Christ.

Advent is a time of promise and preparation, be patient. The renewal of love and forgiveness has again been made flesh. In the renewal of our salvation, final happiness and healing, rich or poor, is pulled from the desert.

Be patient, brothers and sisters, The LORD God keeps faith forever.

Yall be good, yall be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen