THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
The Kingdom of Heaven Comes – the World will be United
First Reading: (Is 35: 1-6, 10): The blessing of salvation
Second Reading (Jas 5: 7-10): We must strengthen our hearts for the Lord is near
Gospel (Mt 11: 2-11): Are you the One who is to come?
Chinese classics:
-“When the perfect order prevails, the world is like a home shard by all. Virtuous and worthy men are elected to public office, and capable men hold posts of gainful employment in society. Peace and trust among all men are the maxims of living. (1) The Eleventh Chapter of Matthew states, “When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ’Are you the one to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (ref Mt 11: 2-11) Here Jesus was repeating what the Prophet Isaiah had said, “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come and save you.” (Is 35: 1-6) Isaiah continues his prophecy saying, ”Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. (Ref Is 35: 6, 10) Our faith is a lovely thing that lifts up our spirits. We await not only the return of Jesus Christ, but the coming of the kingdom of heaven – a new world and the coming of a new era. With Christ's arrival there can come happiness, hope and all beautiful things. Faith is not only an internal, spiritual matter. It is also about our physical being and our society. It is related to politics, economics, culture and the whole universe. The blind see, the cripple walks, lepers are cleansed, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the good news preached to them. All of this uplifts our spirits. Among us there are many who are blind, poor, crippled, deaf, or even dead. Among us there are also many physically strong people with severe problems. Some people say that there are also people who die in their twenties, but only are buried when they are in their seventies or eighties. We have sayings such as ‘a walking cadaver.’ Those people are to be pitied more than the dead. They have not only died themselves but killed others as well, hoping others will be buried with them. We await Christ's coming, not only his arrival but the arrival of a new era. Christ will bring a new hope and a new people. Truly all humankind has been waiting for this for a long time. Chinese people have expressed their earnest desire for this state in “The Commonwealth State” in “The Record of Rites” “When the perfect order prevails, the world is like a home shared by all. Virtuous and worthy men are elected to public office, and capable men hold posts of gainful employment in society. Peace and trust among all men are the maxims of living. All men love and respect their parents and children as well as the parents and children of others. There is caring for the old; there are jobs for the adults; there are nourishment and education for the children. There is means of support for the widows and widowers, for all who find themselves alone in the world, and for the disabled.(1) This is the dream of ancient Chinese people. What they hoped for was a world of communion. This united world would belong to each and every individual. In this united world people with talents would serve others, people would have mutual trust and speak of peace. We would not only respect our parents and love our children, but extend such respect and love to others' parents and children. Under such circumstances, the elderly and the young, children and even widows, orphans and marginalized persons can enjoy a good and safe life. This is the communion the Chinese dream about and the kingdom of heaven that Jesus talked about. The kingdom of heaven that Isaiah prophesized will come into the world with Christ, the dream that the Chinese have held for thousands of years will become a reality with Christ. However, ideals and reality are two different things. Faith and daily life can be two different stories. Hence James reminded us, “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” (Jas 5: 7-8) Nonetheless, we should be hopeful about the world, and at the same time be prepared to be faced with an imperfect world lacking in fairness, love and justice. Faith is a strange thing. On the one hand we must be strong and hopeful, on the other hand we need to avoid being over-idealistic. We must be patient and learn to accept the inevitable constraints of real life. We need to accept that actual life is full of limitations. At such times we may feel annoyed, sad and frustrated. But it is in those circumstances that we can listen once more to Isaiah's words: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice. We shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is our God. He will come and save us.” Let us rely on Jesus and look forward to Christ's arrival. An anonymous poet from Bangladesh said, “One person's dream remains a dream, but if a whole group of people dream, the dream will become reality.’ Let us passionately wait for Christ and the kingdom that will come with him. We firmly believe th 33at a fuller, more perfect life will come one day! (1)大道之行也，天下為公。選賢與能，講信修睦。
| 
