This Gospel Reading of Saturday of Second Week of
Advent (Matthew 17:9a, 10-13) is take from Matthew’s description the
conversation of Jesus, Peter, James, and John, as they were coming down from
the mountain where the transfiguration of Jesus took place (Matthew 17:1-8).
And the topic of the conversation was Elijah, whom they saw, accompanying
Jesus, with Moses, during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3).
The post-transfiguration conversation on Elijah
started with the disciple’s question:
Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
(Matthew 17:10).
This question stemmed out of Malachi’s prophecy:
Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, before
the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day; he will turn the heart
of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, lest I come
and strike the land with utter destruction (Malachi 3:23-24).
In fact, this is the last prophecy recorded in the
Old Testament and is the last prophecy of Malachi. After Malachi leaving the
above words to prophesize Elijah’s return before the coming of Christ, the
Israelites had no prophet for more than 400 years, until John the Baptist began
announcing the imminent appearance of Christ, thus, preaching to repent and
prepare the way of his coming and baptizing, as reflected in the Gospel Reading
of Second Sunday of Advent (Luke 3:1-6, Cycle C). In doing so, John the Baptist
was fulfilling what Isaiah prophesized as the voice in the wilderness,
proclaiming the coming of Christ and call to prepare his way (Isaiah 40:3).
So Jesus replied:
Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but
I tell you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him but did
to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands
(Matthew 17:11-12).
As the disciples understood from the above response
of Jesus, Elijah in Malachi’s prophecy (Malachi 3:23-24) was fulfilled by John
the Baptist (Matthew 17:13).
The Gospel Reading of Saturday of Second Week of
Advent (Matthew 17:9a, 10-13) reflects the Gospel Readings of the last two
days: Jesus’ testimony to John the Baptist, juxtaposing him to Elijah (Matthew
11:11-15, Thursday of Second Week of Advent), and Jesus’ rebuke of those who
did not listen to John the Baptist because they did not recognize him as the
prophesized prophet as the forerunner of the incarnated Christ (Malachi 3:23-24),
as well as, those who did not listen to Jesus for not acknowledging him as the
prophesized Christ (Micah 5:1;Malachi 3:20) (Matthew 11:16-19, Friday of Second
Week of Advent).
Whom Malachi said Elijah came as John the Baptist to
call for repentance and conversion of sinners to prepare for the coming of
Christ as he will bring, as you can see in juxtaposing Malachi 3:23-24 and
Matthew 3:1-12//Luke 3:1-17.
Having listened to John the Baptist’s proclamation
of the imminence of Christ’s coming and call to repent and convert as our way
of making his coming (Luke 3:1-6) on Second Sunday of Advent (Cycle C) to start
Second Week of Advent, we have three days in row (Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday) in this week to reflect on the significance of John the Baptist in
preparing the way of Christ’s coming. And on this last day of Second Week of
Advent, we further reflect on John the Baptist as the fulfillment of Malachi’s
prophecy for Elijah’s return to prepare for the coming of Christ to bring the
judgement. Then, we will listen from John the Baptist in the Gospel Reading of
Third Sunday of Advent (Luke 3:10-18) to know how we make the way of Christ’s
coming in a more concrete way.
Having listened to Jesus explaining on Malachi
3:23-24 in terms of seeing John the Baptist as Elijah’s return (Matthew
11:12-14; 17:11-12), we reflect on Elijah in the First Reading of Saturday of
Second Week of Advent (Ben Sira 48:1-4, 9-11)
In Ben Sira 44:1-50:29, we see reflections of
significant ancestors of the Israelites. In this, Elijah is praised in Ben Sira
47:25-48:11. The First Reading (Ben Sira 48:1-4, 9-11) is taken from this
section to focus our reflection of the fiery nature of his prophetic ministry.
Elijah was commissioned by God to rebuke and condemn corruption of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) under Ahab’s reign, as chronicled in 1 Kings 17:1-2 Kings 2:14. Ben Sira reflects Elijah as a man of fiery zeal, who brought down fire (Ben Sira 48:1-4; cf. 2 Kings 1:9-14). And upon completing his mission and handing his authority to Elisha, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind with a fiery chariot (Ben Sira 48:9; 2 Kings 2;11). And Ben Sira believes that Elijah will return for the world to convert in order to stop God’s wrath, in preparing the way of Christ’s coming (Ben Sira 48:10; cf. Malachi 3:23-24). And this is echoed in Matthew 17:10.
Before the incarnated Christ, Jesus, appearing, there was John the Baptist pointing us to his coming and calling for penance and conversion. And he rebuked hypocrites. More than 850 years before John the Baptist, there was Elijah calling for penance and conversion but brought fire down on those who refused to repent and convert.
Elijah rebuked those who were unrepentant sinners of
his time and facilitated conversion of sinners, with his fiery zeal. So did
John the Baptist, juxtaposed to Elijah to prepare the way of the coming of
Christ. And Christ indeed came to the world, conceived in the womb of Blessed
Virgin Mary and born of her as Jesus in Bethlehem. He died, rose, and ascended.
Afterward, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples to give birth to the
holy catholic apostolic Church. And Christ will return as the King of the
Universe to judge us all, living or dead, have his nuptial union with the
Church, and redeem all those who endured the tribulation through steadfast
faith into the Kingdom.
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