Third Sunday of Advent [A]

 


THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT [A]


You’ve heard the expression: “It’s time to put your cards on the table.”  It means that we’re done with speculation, with pretense, with strategizing. Now we’ll see just how strong your hand really is. This concept becomes illustrated in a 1965 production called “The Cincinnati Kid.”  The 1994 film “Maverick” also includes a climactic scene in which the cards are dramatically being placed on the table. 


The point behind referencing these two movies? Essentially, this is what John does in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter eleven. He’s putting his cards on the table. Earlier, he goes on record, endorsing the person of Jesus (see John 1:29-34). But as time passes, conditions worsen for John. He eventually finds himself being arrested, locked up in prison. Meanwhile, it’s being reported to him that Jesus has forsaken the approach of a freedom fighter. This produces an inner conflict for John. Has he been supporting the wrong man? Should they go looking for somebody else? 


In other words, he’s experiencing doubt. What we need to appreciate is the fact that he takes his doubt directly to the Lord. He can’t leave his cell, so therefore he decides to send messengers to Jesus. In this way, the cards are being placed on the table. I am doubting. I see no reason to deny it or to pretend. I’m laying my cards on the table: D-O-U-B-T. That’s my hand. He’s showing his cards. How will Jesus respond? 


Jesus doesn’t respond with anger or with indignation. He calmly sends the messengers back. He instructs them: Have John re-read the Book of Isaiah, chapter thirty five. If he reviews this chapter, he will be able to recognize that the prophecies are being fulfilled. Is there any record of further protests from John? No. We can only conclude that the inner conflict has been resolved. This begs the question of our own situation. What about us? How do we process the interior turmoil that brews deep down inside of us? 


Do you pretend that it doesn’t exist? Do you suppress it? Do you adopt a facade of happiness and contentment? Or do you withdraw, wrapped up in your own bitterness? Here’s what you might want to consider: consider borrowing a page from John the Baptist. Try putting your cards on the table. Be open and honest about what’s happening within you. Be brutally honest, if need be. Remember the Lord’s patience as reflected in Matthew eleven. That’s why we practice the virtue of patience. That’s why we incorporate the virtue being promoted in the Letter of James, chapter five. 


We embrace the virtue of patience because the Lord demonstrates a supreme level of patience with each and every one of us. Therefore, go to him in prayer. Be honest, even brutally honest. The Lord can handle it. He will respond to you as he responds to John the Baptist. He will gently direct you to the words of Sacred Scripture. If you manage to give the Sacred Word a legitimate chance, you’ll discover that you are regaining your sense of perspective. For that matter, you seem to be reaching a new plateau. And it all has to do with the fact that you are learning how to put your cards on the table. 

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