3rd Week of Advent: WAIT
John the Baptist returns in this week's Gospel written by John (but not John the Baptist). Again, we hear him proclaiming the coming Messiah, the Christ. St. John writes, "He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light but he came to testify to the light."
John makes a point to say that John the Baptist came to testify to the light, he came to prepare the way. In the reading, we hear the priests and Levites grill John the Baptist with questions. We see their impatience. They want answers.
How often are we impatient? We just want the answers... now. It's our impatience that makes Advent so special and also so difficult. Isn't Christmas what it's all about? Isn't the birth of Christ the most important thing? Shouldn't we want to get there as fast as possible?
The answer is "yes" and "no." It makes me think of a quote from Star Wars: The Last Jedi: "This is not going to go the way you think." If we are so focused on where we're going then we miss the journey. If we have grand pictures of how we think things will be then we set ourselves up for disappointment (who would've have thought that the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ would have showed up as an infant?).
So this Advent: WAIT. Don't get caught up in what you think Christmas should be. Enjoy the journey. Be patient. Prepare your heart.
Then you can be surprised by what Christmas is.
