Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 3 of Season 6 for the Third Sunday of Advent: Dec. 11, 2022. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew, Chapter 11, verses 2-11
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
The Gospel of the Lord
“To Whom Do We Go?” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut
We often have our sights focused on the here and now of our lives because that's what's capturing our attention and requires our focus. But if we step back for a minute and begin to reflect outside of ourselves to the greater picture of humanity and look back to the time that human beings were first created and placed in this world by God, all that human beings have accomplished, all that human beings have learned, all that human beings have created is truly inspiring.
Think back to a very simple act like the creation of fire. That someone would've thought of rubbing two sticks together to create a spark. That spark could create what became known as fire, which provided not only warmth and heat, but was useful for cooking. That one simple act.
Allow your minds to ponder the other great things human beings have accomplished: the creation of a pyramid in its time and place. What Picasso painted on a canvas. The works of Bach, of Mozart, of Beethoven. Consider the Sistine Chapel, the work of Michelangelo. Consider all of the other wonders that human beings have accomplished. What we've learned about ourselves. How we've moved from one generation to the next. Imagine the first time human beings were cognizant and aware of death. Where the loss of another human being's life left an impact on the person. Where they experienced grief for the first time but didn't know yet what it meant. The first experience of fear, an understanding of love, the meaning of life, and what it means to be a human being.
Life has really unfolded as a painting on a wall that begins in one corner and then moves across that canvas, each piece leading to the next. As we consider all that we have accomplished and all that we have learned, and all that we have created, have we done this on our own, or have we been inspired and led?
As human beings, it is easy to take credit for our own work, to take credit for our own thinking, but is that really what is going on here, or is there something more occurring? Something more happening in your life, in my life, and in the lives of all human beings? We can speak of gifts and talents, but the inspiration that comes when one opens themselves up to being used is something that happens beyond the individual that comes forth from somewhere else, but from whom?
Plato mused about the meaning of life, as did Aristotle. They both had wonderful contributions that are useful even today in the way we think and the way we learn, the way we understand ourselves, those foundational principles. But were they able to capture the full truth of who we are?
We need to learn from one another, there is no doubt, and part of the success of the human generation and how things have developed over time has been due to the fact that we've learned from those that have gone before us. You know, there are many cultures, many of them long gone, who put great value on the younger folks spending time with the elders to learn what life was all about, what was important, how to prioritize life, what values needed to be embraced, how to become a successful member of that particular tribe or society. And then those younger ones grew up and taught those same lessons, tweaked a bit by their own learning, to their offspring as well, and one generation to the next carried on. And so we do listen to voices that tell us who we are, that help us through the experience of life because we don't certainly do that on our own. But what voices factor into how I look at myself, how I negotiate life experience, to whom do I listen? Because we can certainly look to science, the learning that has developed over the years. And we can allow science to tell us who we are, or we can look to a particular philosophy that says a human being is such and such, and we can let that tell us who we are. Or we can look to psychology, and we can have that explain who we are and tell us about human behavior. Or we can look to what is popular, what is trendy today, to tell us what we should be doing and what we should not be doing, who we are and who we aren't, what's good and what is bad. Or we can close our minds to any of that and just go with the impulses of our hearts, what we feel like doing today, and not reflect on any of it at all.
To whom do we go when it comes to understanding life and death? The human journey? Our purpose? Meaning? And what all of this is about in the first place? To whom do we go?
The prophets of the Old Testament reminded the Hebrew people that it was God who was the source of all life and God who was the one to have our allegiance. And then, when they're going through the desert, the prophet told them, hold on, God is with you. God will bring you through it. But even the Israelites were wondering because life was getting so difficult whether this was even true. Persevere. Hold on.
Other prophets in the Old Testament, when people were starting to make decisions away from the law, away from God: come back, they would say. Hosea, come back to me with all your heart. The prophets spoke those words of challenge and brought people back.
It's almost as if you look back at the history of the human race and you look back at all the humanity has gone through; as one generation moves to the next, it's almost like a lens on glasses that gets tweaked. It gets a little bit clearer, a little bit clearer, a little bit clearer, a little bit clearer. And that's, in essence, what has happened in our faith life. If you look through the Hebrew scriptures, every page a little clearer, a little clearer, a little bigger understanding of who God is, and then comes Jesus Christ, and he's the perfect lens; the perfect lens.
And really, what was John the Baptist preaching about but all of this basic stuff of life? You wanna know how to look at life. John the Baptist said the one is coming who's gonna tell you? You wanna understand what death is all about? The one is coming; he's gonna tell you. You wanna understand how to organize life and how to make this world work? The one who is coming is gonna tell you. You wanna know who God is and what he wants of us? The one is coming, he's gonna tell you. And off in the distance, there's his guy. And so John sends the messengers out. Well, go ask him. Are you the one that we're looking for, or should we be looking for someone else?
And Jesus, true to form, doesn't answer the question. He doesn't say yes, and he doesn't say no. He looks at them, and he says, well, what do you see? The blind see. The lame are healed. The poor are being tended to. What do you think about all of that? And then he simply says, the person who doesn't take offense at me, who understands me and accepts me as blessed, blessed. And that doesn't mean you get a privileged status. That simply means your eyes are open and you see truth.
And so Jesus is the corrective lens on our life, the corrective lens on our life. So when you and I, as we go through our Christian journey, look to the cross, and we ask that question of Jesus himself, are you the one I'm looking for? Or should I still try to understand myself through science, through philosophy, through political ideologies, through what is popular today, through what I can read, what I can do on my own, or just what is going on inside of me? Or should I be looking to you? Are you the one that is going to interpret life for me? To tell me how I should deal with death, the role of suffering, how to deal with forgiveness and resolve conflict, how to organize life, and how to conduct myself, what I see as important, what I see is not important, or should I be looking somewhere else?
And the day that we say, you and I, or any person says, yes, you're the one, we open the door to changing our life.
Pope Francis borrows some great words from Pope Benedict in one of his works, where he says that Pope Benedict says, being a Christian is not about making an ethical choice or an idea, an ideology. He said it's about an encounter with an event, a person, Jesus Christ. An encounter that gives life a new horizon and a decisive purpose and direction. A new horizon and a decisive direction. So in other words, once we say yes, that you're the answer to that question, then life changes for us, and we have a new horizon and a decisive direction. We know what we're doing. We know who we are. We know why we're here, and we know how to conduct the business of our lives. We don't look to science to tell us that. We don't look to popular trends to tell us that. We don't look to political ideologies to tell us that. We don't allow impulse to tell us that. We allow Jesus Christ to tell us that.
And that's the joy of Gaudete Sunday because the Savior is coming to save us from our confusion, to save us from our doubt, because human beings will consult something you see, we're put together that way. When we're feeling something in here, we want to understand that thing, and so we're going to reach out to something to assist us with that.
And the problem is when we're seeking out lesser things than the truth, we get off track. You and I know that because we're here, but there's so many in the world that still don't know what they're looking for. They're feeling things in here. They know they're longing for something, and they keep bumping up against those things that are sometimes hurting them rather than helping them, and they can be very lost.
And so the greatest moment in a human being's life is when they begin to reflect and realize that the answer may be here. And when they, in all sincerity of heart, place themselves in front of Jesus Christ and ask that question, are you the one I'm looking for? Or should I still keep looking for something else? Are you the one that is going to answer the ache of my heart, or should I still be looking for something else? And when that door is open, guess what? God comes in, and that relationship is established, and that's what Pope Benedict is trying to say. That's when you begin to realize I've found the truth. That's what those people realized when they went out to see Jesus. He, yes, he's the guy. This makes sense. This makes sense. Our Savior has come. And the greatest gift that you and I can give the lost folks in our world, those folks who still don't know where to find the answer to life, is to learn how to ask the question. Because if we can help people ask the right question, they will receive the right answer.
Today is a day of joy. May we truly welcome our savior when we celebrate Christmas. That we truly know that the Lord has come, the one who can save us from our sins and bring us salvation.
Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community at www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.