Daily Gospel Reflection

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December 17, 2023

Third Sunday of Advent
Jn 1:6-8;19-28
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A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”

as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Reflection

Rev. Dr. Tim Mitchell '81
Member of the Notre Dame Club of Kentucky
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In the gospel text for the Third Sunday of Advent, we hear that a man named John was sent
from God. He came to testify to the light so that all might believe through him. He was not the
light but came to testify to it.

Follow John and his testimony, and we find Jesus. But John is not so easy to follow. John is a
voice in the wilderness. Yet John was a voice in the wilderness who taught Jesus to hear God’s voice from the sky.

Have you ever been lost in the darkness? I have. Last fall, I was hiking alone in the Red River
Gorge in eastern Kentucky, and I lost my way. My cell phone could not pick up a signal, and darkness set in. Darkness, real darkness, has a way of getting inside you and stirring up fright. I eventually found my way out to safety, calming my panic, but I have not forgotten the fear I felt.

“Light shining in the darkness” is a symbol rooted in the Christian faith. It plays upon the scriptural references associated with the birth of Christ. In Luke chapter one, Zechariah’s song at the birth of his son John contains the prediction that light will be given to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

The revelation of Christ lights the way out of the darkness, the godless place, the place of
hardened hearts and lost hope. There is a lot of darkness in our world today, and we may have to sit in it for a while, but our faith bids us not to get stuck in fear or hopelessness. In whatever personal or communal darkness in our lives and world, may we follow John and move toward the light.

Prayer

Rev. Robert Loughery, C.S.C.

Merciful God, our Advent observance invites us to thoughtful reflection of your Word. Stirred into action, we hear the call to conversion of our lives as we await the coming of the light announced by John the Baptist. Fill us with his healing rays. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. John of Matha

St. John of Matha dedicated his priesthood to saving captive Christians, and his confidence in God's help with that endeavor even saved him from shipwreck.

John was born in France in 1160, and lived as a hermit for a while. He went on for studies at the University of Paris, where he earned his doctorate in theology. During his schooling, he was ordained a priest, and when he celebrated his first Mass, he had a vision that urged him to dedicate his life to freeing Christians who had been captured during the crusades.

John sought advice about this vision. He heard of a reclusive hermit and holy man, St. Felix of Valois, and he went and lived with him for a time. The two decided to begin a religious order dedicated to freeing Christians being held for ransom by Muslims in north Africa.

On this date in 1198, the two saints went to Rome and received the approval of the pope to found the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, known as the Trinitarians. Members of the order raised money in Europe and then traveled to north Africa to ransom many captives. John himself traveled to Tunis several times and freed more than 100 slaves on each trip. The order grew and spread through France, Spain, Italy, and England.

During his second trip, Muslim captors grew angry with John because he gave prisoners hope and urged them to constancy in their faith. Muslims raided his ship, removed the helm, and tore the sails so that John and his freed Christians would be lost at sea. John was full of confidence in God, however, and the Christians on the ship rigged their cloaks as sails. During their journey, John held a crucifix and knelt on the bow, praying psalms, and the ship arrived to Italy in safety.

St. John of Matha died on this date in 1213. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

St. John of Matha, you spent your life setting captives free—pray for us!


Image Credit: Our featured image of St. John of Matha is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed November 1, 2024.