Good morning!  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Philippians) We pause midway between the beginning of Advent and Christmas to take stock of ourselves. The second big bang is about to happen.   Like a stag in the fields hearing a distant sound pauses and looks up, we too pause and look up. In the distance we can barely make out that something incredible is happening, someone has come,  someone is coming and someone will come again. Who is that someone?

I was bemused this weekend when I opened my paper and read the headline, “Meet Sergio Canavero, the Brain Behind the World’s First Head Transplant-And Perhaps the Key to Everlasting Life.” Dr. Canavero is an Italian neurosurgeon who is respected in his profession and is the creator of an organization, called HEAVEN=Head Anastomosis Venture.  He is quite serious about his project. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I want to chance my life everlasting  with Dr. Canavero whose idea is to decapitate me and transplant my head on to a younger body!  On thinking a little deeper about this hare-brained scheme, I realized that this is an expression of the human desire to overcome suffering and death. This is the longing in every human heart for a new beginning, a new creation where darkness is overcome, where justice, peace and fulfillment reign in our hearts and indeed in all of creation.  As St. Paul says in Romans, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:19-24)

Today on Gaudete Sunday we rejoice because the Messiah has come--the fulfillment of our hope in ultimate transformation and a new world order without darkness, violence and domination.  We who live in a world after Jesus’ birth have already seen the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah   described in our first reading.  The parched dry land will begin to show forth new growth, new sprouts: “the desert shall rejoice and blossom.” We are told not to be afraid: “Say to those who are of fearful heart, ‘Be strong , do not fear! Here is your God.”

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we meet John the Baptist  but a John the Baptist who has some doubts. Mark’s Gospel begins with John the Baptist, the greatest of all prophets because he lived to see the fulfillment of the many Messianic prophecies of prophets who lived hundreds of years before him. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.” In John’s Gospel, the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” In our Gospel today from St. Matthew, we meet a different John the Baptist. He’s locked up in Herod’s dark dungeon and he questions himself whether Jesus really is the promised one.  His faith is tested. He has doubts. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Should we be rejoicing or is it all a mistake. We all have doubts at times, especially when the circle of darkness tightens around us.  Should we be joyful? Is the lord really near to us-what about the children in Aleppo, the migrants trying to escape in rickety boats on the Mediterranean?  John is locked up, in darkness, alone. In his mind, the question pops up again and again, “Are you the one?” We all have dark moments in the dungeon-often of our own making, when we too ask with John the Baptist, “Are you really the one?”  Then how come I am still imprisoned in the darkness?  Jesus doesn’t answer our question directly; he doesn’t say, Yes I am the one! Rather he points to the transformation occurring with his presence.  The answer is what Jesus does in this world of darkness: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

We live in a skeptical world that longs for something it cannot name. A world where people turn to any new movement that promises a quick fix, an answer  to their pain, their longing.  Through our baptism we are the presence of Jesus in our families and communities. We must answer the question, “Are you the one?” through our actions rather than through words.  The seeds of something new sprout when we welcome new life, when we bring hope to a shut-in or elderly person, when we take the time to truly listen to another’s story, when we visit the sick, the prisoner, the dying, the poor, when we share love and friendship with a stranger, when we share by giving to our food pantry or the NDG Food bank.  All of these actions open people’s eyes to the possibility that yes, ‘He is the one.”  It is when we show others the possibility of a world when the ‘thou’ comes before the ‘I’ then ears may open to hear the good news about rejoicing.

The virtue of patience as James says in our second reading is essential for us who live in the in-between time. “The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the lord is near.” No matter how long it takes, the Lord will come again and so we wait patiently and we rejoice in that knowledge.

I will conclude with the words of a commentator on today’s responsorial psalm:

“”Psalm 146 is one of the so-called Hallelujah psalms that wrap up the Psalms.  ..For many, Hallelujah will bring to mind the chorus from Handel’s Messiah.  However the version that resonates with contemporary people both inside and outside the church is Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah”.. Why?...despite all the brokenness of our lives, Cohen claims the bold stance of standing before the Lord of song and singing the his praise to the Lord of song.  It is as if the promise rings out in the midst of brokenness. God’s will for good, for a life of shalom, of both well-doing and doing well, evokes praise, and in the praise arises hope.”

“Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete” “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Philippians)