Visible Joy: SALT's Commentary for Advent Week Three
Third Week of Advent (Year A): Matthew 11:2-11 and Isaiah 35:1-10
Check out SALT’s Strange New World podcast episode on these passages, “The Poetry of Christmas - Part Three: Heaven and Nature.”
Big Picture:
1) Last week’s Gospel reading was Matthew’s story of John the Baptizer appearing in the wilderness, preaching repentance — and in this week’s passage, John reappears in the story. Now imprisoned by Herod for criticizing him publicly, John sends word to Jesus, asking, Are you the one we’re waiting for?
2) Traditionally, the third week of Advent takes “Joy” as its central theme. It’s sometimes called, “Gaudete Sunday” (gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin), and its candle in Advent wreaths is often rose-colored. The overall idea here is that while Advent is a time of longing and waiting in the shadows for Christ to come, there’s also room for taking some “anticipatory joy” in his arrival.
3) Jesus casts his response to John in terms borrowed from this week’s passage from Isaiah, one of the great poetic exclamations of joy in the Bible. The prophet envisions, perhaps from a position of exile, a new era when “the redeemed” shall return to Zion with “singing” and “everlasting joy” (Isa 35:9-10). In this new epoch, the signs of revived life and abundance are everywhere: the desert blooms, senses are restored, the speechless “sing for joy” — and “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa 35:1,5-6,10).
4) The Season of Advent is about waiting and preparing for Christmas — but Christmas itself is a foretaste, an anticipatory glimpse of the new era to come. The first Advent is a kind of sacramental preview of the second Advent, the full flowering of the Realm of Heaven on earth. Accordingly, both Advent and Christmas are seasons for experiencing the eschatological “already/not yet” tension that runs through the Gospel: the Realm of Heaven is “not yet” fully here (hence the shadows and longing), even as it has “already” dawned (hence the light — and the joy!).
Scripture:
1) John’s question for Jesus is at the heart of both Christian faith generally and the Advent season in particular: Are you the one?
2) And so it’s all the more striking that Jesus doesn’t answer the question directly. He doesn’t say, I am. In fact, he doesn’t speak at all to John; he doesn’t say to the intermediary, Tell John that I said such and such. Instead, he says, “Tell John what you hear and see” (Mt 11:4). Miraculous healing, the poor have good news brought to them, and so on — a clear evocation of Isaiah’s description of the promised age to come (Mt 11:5; Isa 35:5-6; 61:1). It’s as if Jesus says, Tell John about the joy you hear and see — it speaks for itself!
3) What’s Jesus up to here? On one hand, this elliptical answer may signal that he’s not yet ready to go public as the Messiah; after all, he later tells his own disciples to keep his messiahship a secret (Mt 16:20). But on the other hand, by answering in terms that evoke Isaiah, he sets his messiahship within a much larger context. It’s as if he says, first, To understand who I am, you have to look through the ancient lens given to us by Isaiah. And at the same time, second, Don’t focus too much on me personally — I’m here to herald something much bigger than one person. Focus on the signs of revival and abundance you hear and see, the signs of the new era I’ve come to proclaim: the Realm of Heaven is at hand! Look! The long-promised day of joy is dawning, and that joy is breaking out everywhere — visible signs of joy, joy you can hear and see and touch! Tell John THAT!
4) Isaiah is writing “to those who are of a fearful heart”; the Hebrew is literally, “to those whose hearts are racing” — which is to say, to the desperate, the afraid, the near-panicked (Isa 35:4). Think of refugee families, fleeing war, violence, or poverty. Or someone wrestling with a grim diagnosis. A soldier facing winter at war, a prisoner facing execution, or someone facing eviction. To each of these racing hearts, the prophet says, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God…” (Isa 35:4).
5) And as the biblical scholar Hendrik Peels has pointed out, the word naqam in this verse — translated “vengeance” in the NRSV translation — has less to do with to do with revenge and more to do with divine rescue and restoration of justice (Isa 35:4). The NAB translation, for example, translates naqam as “vindication”; NJPS (a prominent Jewish translation) as “requital.” The point is that God’s promised deliverance here is closer to restorative justice than retributive justice — and this theme of restoration immediately spills over into a cascade of other signs of joy (Isa 35:5-6).
Takeaways:
1) To the question, Are you the one?, Jesus responds this way: If you have eyes to see and ears to hear, if you can perceive sacramentally, if you can experience the world — even this broken world of prisons and conflict and disappointment and sorrow — through the ancient poetry of Isaiah, then you’ll know the new day has dawned. It’s not yet fully arrived, of course, but the signs of life are clear: glimpses of heaven, occasions for joy even now!
2) Augustine defined a sacrament as a “visible word” and a “visible sign of invisible grace.” This week’s readings push us to see sacramentally: to see in the first Advent, a visible sign of the second; in Christmas, a visible sign of the Realm of Heaven; and in whatever particular restorations and joys we hear and see around us, sacraments of the Great Restoration and “everlasting joy” to come (Isa 35:10).
3) And the church is called not just to “hear and see” such sacramental glimpses of restoration and joy, but also to become such sacramental glimpses ourselves, to become visible, audible, encouraging signs for a weary, fearful world. Be strong, do not fear! And above all: Rejoice!
4) To that end, this is a perfect week to name and explore the role of “anticipatory joy” in our lives. Try singing “Joy to the World” this week, for example: the song tangibly anticipates the joy of Christmas, and as it turns out, Isaac Watts wrote it as a forward-looking celebration not only of the first Advent, but also of the second. Revisit the lyrics with this in mind: “Let every heart prepare him room” is an Advent sentiment if there ever was one. That’s right: “Joy to the World” is an Advent hymn!
5) If singing joyfully during Advent feels unfamiliar, you’re not alone — but do not fear! Many Christians make a point of avoiding Christmas carols before Christmas Eve, arguing that Advent hymns are more appropriate, since Jesus has “not yet” been born. But as we’ve seen, Advent isn’t only a “not yet” season; it’s also an “already” season — or, more precisely, it’s a season made for vividly experiencing the eschatological “already/not yet” tension at the heart of Christian life. We enter the shadows — and light candles. We call for Jesus to come — and celebrate his presence even now. We take “anticipatory joy” in Christmas — and remember that in this broken world, we still await that future coming when “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa 35:10). So by all means, sing Advent hymns during Advent, but don’t be afraid to mix in some beloved Christmas carols, too!
6) Finally, is it really possible to be joyful in the midst of the shadows of sorrow? Henri Nouwen puts it this way: while happiness usually depends on circumstances, joy runs deeper. “Joy," he writes, "is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing - sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death — can take that love away.” Thus joy and sorrow can not only coexist; joy can even be found in the midst of sorrowful circumstances. By all outward appearances, John’s situation in prison was difficult and vulnerable, but Jesus calls on him — and calls on us! — to draw on a wellspring deeper than the surface of things. Be strong, do not fear — and rejoice!
Check out SALT’s Strange New World podcast episode on these passages, “The Poetry of Christmas - Part Three: Heaven and Nature.”