Gospel Commentary: Are You the One?

By Fr. Jack Peterson
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 12/9/04)

Have you ever found yourself staring at something you were looking for but were just unable to see it. This happens in the spiritual world. God and his truth, love and mercy can be right in front of us and we just plain miss Him. This spiritual blindness can have many causes, all of which are connected to sin and its effects on the world and in our lives.

God spent thousands of years trying to prepare his chosen people for the most amazing and world-changing event in history. Isaiah the prophet prophesied the return of the people from exile in Babylon. God was going to perform great deeds, and wonderful signs would accompany these deeds. "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf will be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will speak" (Is 35: 6a).

This prophecy was directed at a moment in history when the Israelites would return to the Promised Land and experience many blessings from the hand of the Lord. "Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you." As Christians, we look back and recognize that Isaiah was also speaking about a time even further in the future when God would intervene in a profoundly new way. He Himself would leap down from heaven and dive into our broken, hurting world. His own Son would take on our human flesh and become one like us in all things but sin. This event would transform the world and potentially restore each of us to a proper and intimate union with our Father in heaven. It would reveal the glory of God, restore unity to a divided world, bring healing to the afflicted, and be a source of unprecedented joy.

In Matthew’s Gospel, John the Baptist, the "prophet of the most high," asks the question of Jesus through his disciples, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus answers by stating that He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." Jesus’ miracles were signs of His identity and power as Messiah and savior. They were signs that God was fulfilling His promises to His people and to the whole world. They were signs of the kingdom of God breaking into our midst.

God’s power has not diminished in our time. He still performs signs for us, but sometimes we are too blind to see them. I believe He wants to perform many more, but often our faith is too small. He sometimes is left frustrated with our lack of faith.

Another way in which God’s signs are to be made present in our world is through us, His present-day disciples. Part of God’s plan is to spread his kingdom through the work of our hands prompted by the gift of his grace. Part of his plan is for the deaf to hear, the blind to see and the lame to walk. We can work such miracles! But we must be willing to pray for them with great faith, and to love, encourage, labor, sacrifice our time and energy, and thereby allow Christ to perform miracles of healing through our Christ-like love.

This Advent, let Christ perform a sign of his kingdom through you.

Copyright ©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.