Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 – He has sent me to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:46-50, 53-54 – My soul rejoices in my God.

Second Reading:1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 – May you all be kept safe for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28 – There stands among you the one coming after me.

The first reading of today comes from the third and final part of the Book of Isaiah called the “Trito-Isaiah” or the “Third Isaiah” (chapters 56-66). This section belongs to the post-exilic period and is believed to have been written by the disciple of Deutero-Isaiah. After their return from Babylonian exile, the immediate expected realization of the prophecies of the Deutero-Isaiah did not happen. People expected an instant glorious new era; but the restoration was slow. Poverty still abounded and the poor were being exploited by those who were better off. This caused the faith of the people to weaken considerably. It was in the midst of this that a disciple of Deutero-Isaiah attempted to re-interpret his message for this post-exilic community. His emphases were more on the spiritual dimension rather than just the externals. Although the returnees were mostly poor and excluded from the mainstream society, God destined them to become instruments of his salvation. The prophet’s message is to reassure them that God is concerned about those whom the society has rejected. It is interesting that at the start of his public ministry, Jesus appropriated unto himself the fulfilment of this prophecy when, after reading the text of the prophecy in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth, said: “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen” (cf. Lk. 4:18-21). And Jesus’ words and actions mirrored the beginning of this long awaited new world where the downtrodden – the poor, the sick, the captives, the prisoners, etc., – are given special care and protection. He has come indeed to bring us the Good News of salvation.

But the problem is that despite obvious signs and explicit statements from Jesus confirming that he was the Messiah, many people of his time failed to recognize him. John the Baptist tells the Jews in today’s Gospel: “I baptise with water; but there stands among you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap”. The people were simply ignorant of the presence of the Messiah in their midst. This sin of ignorance has become one of the worst sins that people can commit. Although on face value it doesn’t even appear as sin, the fact is that most of the catastrophe (both physical and spiritual) that has bedevilled humanity arose from the sin of ignorance. Ignorance is, indeed, a disease.

On the spiritual level, because people fail to recognize that the Messiah is in their midst, they treat each other with contempt. There is this story told by Tony De Mello of a Guru who was meditating in his Himalayan cave when he was suddenly jolted by an unexpected visitor – the abbot of a well-known monastery. He came to consult the Guru with a tale of woes about the dwindling fortunes of their monastery. The monastery was once a beacon and a model for all monasteries. There were thousands of young aspirants flocking in to be admitted; and the melodious chants that resounded in their church were awe-inspiring and attracted a lot of visitors who came for spiritual nourishments. However, of late, the monastery has become a shadow of itself. People no longer flock to it to nourish their spirits, and the young aspirants have dried up leaving only a handful of monks who went about their duties with heavy hearts. What the abbot wanted to know from the Guru was whether it was because of some sins of theirs that the monastery has been reduced to this state. The Guru promptly replied that they were guilty of the sin of ignorance; that one of them was the Messiah in disguise and they were ignorant of this. With that statement, the Guru closed his eyes and returned to his meditation. On his way home, the abbot was intrigued that the Messiah has returned back to earth and was operating in disguise among them, and he didn’t even recognize him. When he eventually broke the news to the five members of the community, everybody started looking at every other person in utter amazement. Sure, all of them had one fault or the other which would have ordinarily disqualified anybody as the Messiah. But since the Messiah was supposed to be in disguise, they started treating each other with respect because, you never know. The result was that the monastery started flourishing once more with atmosphere of joy and respect. People and aspirants returned, and the church was again filled with glorious chants.

The moral of this story is that when Jesus came the first time, he came in disguise and the people failed to recognize him. In his second coming, don’t expect him to come in a form that will be obviously recognizable. He even expressly gave a clue to this in his discourse concerning the last judgment: “I was hungry and you gave me food”. And then people will ask: “When did we see you hungry and gave you food?” and he will reply: “In so far as you did this to the least of my brethren, you did it to me”. Think of the number of times you have treated people with contempt and disdain, or plotted evil against people. Did you know that it was the Messiah in disguise that you treated so disdainfully?

We are all guilty of the sin of ignorance; and the only way to come out of it is to try to fulfil the mission of Isaiah in the first reading which, by divine providence, is also the mission of Jesus Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord”.

The Messiah is indeed among us in disguise. But the Messiah is the other person, not you. We pray for the gift of recognition so that we shall be constantly aware of the thousands of Messiah around in the form of the poor, the sick, the oppressed etc., needing help from us.