Our first reading was a poem from Isaiah.
The prophet Isaiah lived about 700 years before Jesus,
in turbulent times.
Judah was sandwiched between super-powers.
Isaiah advocated dependence on God,
not the powerful neighbours,
and saw ruin flowing from the failure to do this.
And indeed, in time, Judah was overrun,
people were carried away to Babylon and the temple was destroyed,
with the exiles being allowed to return fifty years later.
The book that bears Isaiah's name contains writings of his,
and of people who followed in his footsteps over the next 200 years.
It struck me that these people from 2600 years ago would have no difficulty recognising the situation in Yemen or Syria today.
Humanity's capacity for inhumanity has not abated.
Today's poem is one that is difficult to date precisely.
We don't know whether it was for Judah facing invasion
or for Judah destroyed, or even for the exiles returning from Babylon.
However, like all good poetry, it stands on its own.
It uses images to evoke confidence, to bring comfort,
and to communicate the deep truth that:
God will come and save his people.
The desert should bloom;
people should stand erect
for they will be restored:
the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame dance, the dumb sing, and
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.
This message,
of confidence in God saving power,
was not for its own time only.
It is universal; it is for all time and all people.
That saving power comes to the world in the person of Jesus.
Remember that his very name 'Jesus' means 'God saves'.
Today's Gospel points to this. Jesus says:
Go back and tell John what you hear and see;
the blind see again,
and the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear,
We are not to think of this primarily as wonder working;
as John's gospel makes clear,
all these are signs of the deeper interior changes
that a trusting, faith filled, encounter with Jesus brings.
Seeing as he sees;
going where he wants;
gratefully accepting forgiveness;
attentive to his voice;
loving the world, most especially the poor;
really knowing Him.
This is our salvation,
and it is, for all of us, a 'work in progress'.
That it is a 'work in progress' leads to two different Advent strands.
One strand is to ask
'what is the next step in accepting the salvation Jesus brings,
the next step in deepening my relationship with him'?
Our penitential Service at 7.30 on Wednesday is certainly one place to look at that question.
The other, more fundamental, strand involves dwelling on,
and delighting in,
our existing relationship with Jesus:
recognising his life-giving effect on us.
Every Sunday, we gather
as those brought, through baptism,
into the dignity of kingdom of heaven.
We gather as those who know and appreciate who Jesus is:
we know Jesus as our Saviour.
Humanity's need to know salvation is undiminished.
People need to know that, whatever happens,
God is truly with us, in Jesus.
Jesus saves us, individually and collectively.
It is our privilege to share that Good News.
For there is no greater joy in the world than being close to Jesus.
That is the deep reason to be excited, and to rejoice,
as we prepare to celebrate
the break-through moment of human history, at Christmas.