Scripture readings for Dec. 14, 2025, Third Sunday of Advent
Is 35:1-6a, 10 Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 Jas 5:7-10 Mt 11:2-11
It was for them a kind of Advent.
The disciples of John the Baptist were eager to see the Messiah. The story Matthew tells is that John the Baptist was imprisoned, but from prison, he had heard about Jesus, “about the works of the Christ.” Thus, he sent his disciples to ask the Lord a simple question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another” (Mt 11:2-3)?
This is not a casual question. John’s disciples aren’t merely curious. Their souls burn and yearn for the answer. They have been looking for the Messiah for a long time, everything is at stake. Is Jesus the Messiah? Have I been on the right path? Or was all my seeking simply a mistake? Is John the Baptist a false prophet or true? I’ve always sensed urgency in their question.
Jesus answers by alluding to Isaiah, mostly to Isaiah 35 which is our first reading, but also to Isaiah 26 and Isaiah 61. The point of Jesus’ answer seems to be that since his works are those like the ones prophesied by prophets like Isaiah, then yes, Jesus is indeed “the one who is to come.” That is why Jesus must increase and John the Baptist must decrease (Jn 3:30). That’s what makes John the Baptist’s imprisonment and death the stuff of martyrdom.
But why read this in Advent? First, I think we are to appreciate the urgency of the question. These disciples eagerly sought the Messiah; their spiritual search wasn’t merely a hobby. Do we search for Christ with similar passion? Do we really seek the Messiah like everything is at stake? Do we seek Christ with a similar urgency? Spiritually? Liturgically? Or do we just kind of yawn as Christmas comes again?
But then comes the answer. The advent of Christ is realized wherever there’s healing. Wherever the blind are given sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear and the dead are raised, there Christ has come. There, in those beautiful instances of charity and mercy, the Messiah can indeed be found. Ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
Yet this is a truth hidden in a dark world. Another lesson from this scene in Matthew is that it was not obvious to disciples of John the Baptist that Jesus was the Messiah. That is, they had to ask the question. The mystery demanded discernment. The truth of Jesus Christ, the reality of his sovereignty, is not readily visible as other things are readily visible. Theology is a different kind of science. One must learn how to see by faith the truth of God. One must learn how to see by faith that in acts of charity Jesus Christ is present, ready to be found.
The whole point is that seeking Christ is an urgent, spiritual, and charitable endeavor. It requires energy both spiritual and even physical.
The spiritual life can indeed be tiring; it can be like wandering through the desert or climbing a mountain. Hence the beginning of the passage from James: “Be patient brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord” (Jas 5:7). And hence the exhortation in Isaiah to strengthen feeble hands and weak knees, to “Be strong, fear not!” For God in his vindication will come. He will save us (Is 35:3-4).
So, what does this mean just under two weeks until Christmas? Perhaps Advent has slipped away from you a bit, the spiritual opportunity of Advent. Maybe you’ve been phoning it in these past few weeks; maybe your spiritual search has been anything but urgent. Or, maybe you have been searching intensely for the Lord, and you’re tired. Maybe you’re even thinking about giving up. The spiritual journey is long; the Christian life can be very difficult. It’s understandable to feel tired from time to time, to think about giving up, to tire of waiting for the Lord.
But that’s precisely when we should take a breath and remember the search, the urgency and beauty of it. That’s when we should strengthen our hearts and beg in prayer for the virtue of patience, for spiritual patience. For such patience is how we will gain our souls (Lk 21:19). It’s how we’ll finally find the Christ this Christmas at last.
Father Joshua J. Whitfield is pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas and author of “The Crisis of Bad Preaching” (Ave Maria Press, $17.95) and other books.
