Third Sunday of Advent
Today begins the ancient “O Antiphons” which once were sung and chanted in anticipation of Christmas from December 17th through the 23rd. This week we’ll consider each of the Gospels through the lens of these rich prayers.
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Prudence is a cardinal virtue; some might say it is the mother of virtues, as without prudence, it is difficult—perhaps impossible—to live virtuously at all. Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself, to judge what is the virtuous course of action in a given circumstance. We could see prudence as the lamp of virtuous living, the light by which we see the path of righteousness. Today we pray that Incarnate Wisdom Himself, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who orders all things as they were created to be, come and teach us the way of prudence, to show us the light of Truth that we may walk the path of righteous living and so meet Him at its end.
And so, our Gospel says, “A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light…” It was plain to see that he was a virtuous man, that he knew the path, and his preaching called others to begin walking it; he merely pointed the way. There was something about John that made people see themselves and the world around them in a different light.
No one could quite put their finger on what this special “something” was, and so they began to suspect that he was either Elijah or Moses returned from heaven, as the Prophet Malachi said in his writings (Malachi 3:22-23). Some even suspected he might be the Messiah, but he denied it. Yet he was doing and saying things that the people believed only the Messiah, Elijah, or Moses would or could do. And so John tells them something astounding: the one you await is coming after him.
“…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.”
Imagine the shock of the people: they are expecting, as foretold by ancient prophecy, Elijah and Moses, and John is reminiscent of both, yet he denies being either. Yet he testifies that the Messiah is coming after himself: he is not Elijah, he is not Moses, but he is the one fulfilling their roles in the prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. Now they had a choice: would they heed the light of prudence then shining upon them, repent, and be baptized in preparation for the Messiah who is already among them? And what of us as we look ahead to Christmas or, even more imminent, Christ in the Eucharist at Mass: will we heed the call of John the Baptist and repent, making “straight the way of the Lord?”