Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent
Feast of St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Luke 7:19-23
The endurance of darkness is the preparation for great light.
-A great Advent quote from John of the Cross
Today it is
Luke’s version of John asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for
another?” And like the
Matthean version, Jesus points to the concrete.
What do you see? Tell John what
you have seen and heard: the blind regain
their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And then on v.
23 there is:
And blessed is
the one who does not find me reason to falter.
(Sara Pagina translation)
The term used
is skandalizo from which we derive scandalize.
Oooh! A scandal!
What happens
then?
At the whiff
of a scandal the imagination is abducted.
We go to the
lowest possible interpretation.
We focus on
the clothing and the diet
…camel’s hair and locusts.
If we get
caught in this scandal
we won’t be able to hear or see what is truly there.
Blessed is the
one who doesn’t go there
Blessed is the
one
who is open to
the truth of the prophetic voice
even if it
rubs up against
some of our
cherished assumptions
Blessed indeed!
Today is the feast
of Saint John of the Cross,
Priest,
Doctor, who,
directed by
St. Teresa of Avila,
championed the
push to reform the Carmelite order.
Surprise!
The church
authorities didn’t like the
idea.
They were scandalized at the thought of it
and refused
the prophetic truth in their midst.
St. John, the
great sinner,
suffered
imprisonment
and severe
punishment
at the hands
of the monks of Ubeda in Andalusia.
But by the
time he died at the monastery
his holiness
was recognized with enthusiasm.
So much time,
energy, and giftedness
wasted being scandalized!
Blessed
indeed!
St. John of
the Cross, pray for us!
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