3rd Sunday of Advent
ISAIAH 35:1-6
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear.”
See, your God will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution he will come to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The parched ground will become a pool,
the thirsty land bubbling springs.
The ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
It is a poem of illusion and hope, an act of faith, in very difficult times, singing the end of evils, the final triumph of those who remain faithful to the Lord.
It is one of Israel’s favorite themes: to leave slavery and go to the homeland. This was The Founding Epic of Israel, narrated in the Book of Exodus. Now the people are going through disastrous times: their enemies harass them on all sides, they are going to be exiled to Babylon, but all that will pass, and they will return to the Land, to Jerusalem, and they will become The People of the Lord again.
Faith in the new liberation is shown, by the power of the Lord. Liberation is dressed with all kinds of images of joy, of health. They are the signs of the presence of God the liberator: the fertility of the land, the healing of diseases, the joy of the People.
JAMES 5:7-10
Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.
You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged; see, the Judge is standing at the doors.
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
This “letter” is a writing probably late (end of the 1st century).
Its attribution to James is also obscure; there are at least three “Jameses” in the NT: the two apostles and the one called “the brother of the Lord”, who is, probably, the leader of the Jewish-Christians of Jerusalem. The attribution of this writing to any of them is imprecise, although it seems more reasonable to attribute it to the third.
The letter is rather a wisdom book, in the style of the Wisdom Books of the OT, written from faith in Jesus.
The text we read today also collects the image of the harvest: we must be patient, within the certainty: this is like the cycles of the climate: in winter, it seems that there is no life, but spring will come, summer will come, there will be harvest. The Lord comes, although this life seems to hide it. Be strong, endure in hope.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.