Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Good News to the Poor
Liturgical Cycle: B | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
People and events are agents of salvation: heaven and earth cooperate, but ultimately it is God who saves through people. In the first reading, through the prophet, God addresses Cyrus the Great, who let the Jews return from exile. He was an instrument of God to bring liberation to the Jews. Pagans, too, are called to salvation.
When the disciples of John ask Jesus whether he is the expected Messiah or whether they must wait for someone else, Jesus reminds them of what the prophets had foretold about the Messiah and invites them to look at what he is doing. He restored the sight of the blind, made the deaf hear, cured lepers and proclaimed the good news of the kingdom to those poor in any way. Was that not a sufficient answer?
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in your concern for people
you want all to be saved.
We pray today
that we may be ready to receive you,
your justice and your peace,
and that in your hands
we may be eager instruments
to share your integrity and love
with all who are willing to listen.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
First Reading
so that, from the rising to the setting of the sun, all may know that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form the light and create the dark; I usher in prosperity and bring calamity. I, the Lord, do all this.
Let the heavens send righteousness like dew and the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open and salvation blossom, so that justice also may sprout; I, the Lord, have created it.
Yes, this is what the Lord says, he who created the heavens, – for he is God, who formed and shaped the earth, – for he himself set it: “I did not let confusion in it, I wanted people to live there instead” —for I am the Lord and there is no other.
Let them present their arguments take counsel together and tell me: Who announced this from the beginning, who foretold it in the distant past? Is it not me, the Lord? There is no other God besides me, a Savior, a God of justice, there is no other one but me.
Turn to me and be saved, all you from the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.
By my own self, I swear it, and what comes from my mouth is the truth, a word I say will not be revoked. Before me, every knee will bend, by me, every tongue will swear,
saying, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.” All who have raged against him will come to him in shame.
But through the Lord, there will be victory and glory to the people of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 85:9ab, 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (Isaiah 45:8) Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Raise your voice and tell the Good News:
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with power.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
and sent them to the Lord with this message:
“Are you the one we are expecting, or should we wait for another?”
These men came to Jesus and said:
“John the Baptist sent us to ask you: Are you the one we are to expect, or should we wait for another?”
At that time, Jesus healed many people of their illnesses and diseases; he freed them from evil spirits and gave sight to the blind.
Then he answered the messengers:
“Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor are given good news. Now, listen:
Fortunate are those who meet me and are not offended by me.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– Lord Jesus, if you are the one who has come among us, why have we kept so many people blind and deaf to your message? Open their eyes and ears, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, if you are alive among us, why are so many among us unclean with sins of hatred and lame because we are slow in bringing justice? Heal us, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, if you are with us, why have we not shared with the poor and brought joy to them? Make us serving communities, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, this bread and this wine
are signs that your Son comes among us
in this eucharistic celebration.
May he also be present among us in daily life,
as he was present among the people of his time,
when we help those who suffer
and when we bring justice and freedom
to the poor and the oppressed.
Give us the strength to do this
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you promise us salvation
and we know that your word is irrevocable.
To you a promise is the beginning of its fulfillment.
God, send Jesus among us now, today,
for he is the one to come
and we do not have to wait for anyone else.
May people see that he is here
when there is faithfulness and justice among us
and when we speak words of peace.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Can we say that we are Christian communities in whom Christ lives if there are still many poor and neglected people among us, people who suffer, victims of injustice and discrimination? May God change you and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Gospel: Luke 7:18b-23
About John the Baptist
“Are you the one who was to come, or should we wait for another?” The news about Jesus does not align with the messianic expectations of that time, which is why John’s direct question comes from prison. Jesus’ response is positive: the signs he shows before the messengers are evidence of his messianic work, which he had already announced in the synagogue of Nazareth: the proclamation of the Lord’s year of grace (4:19), which is good news for the poor (22) and is being fulfilled despite the confusion and opposition from the religious authorities (30). God surpasses our expectations (23-28).
Commentary on the Gospel passage from the Bible Claret online commentary.