Reflection for December 16, Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent: Luke 7:18b-23

Luke 7:18b-23

At that time, John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to the Lord, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind. And Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and 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 blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

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Reflection:

The disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus, are you the one who is to come? Jesus did not directly answer this question from the messengers of John the Baptist. Instead of directly admitting that He was it Jesus told them about the miracles that He does for the people.

We can only guess the reason why Jesus did not directly admit that He was the messiah. But instead of admitting it Jesus told the messengers about the miracles that He does for the people. Perhaps we can attribute this to Jesus’ desire to maintain a low profile so that he could silently do His mission for the greater glory of God.

Jesus could have easily admitted it and told the messengers that He is the awaited messiah. But He never did, Jesus simply mentioned the things that He does for the people. What if we are in the shoes of Jesus? How would we react to the tempting question?

When we are faced with the same situation let us always follow what Jesus did. Let us never take advantage of the chance to be popular. Let us continue to be self-effacing and humble for this is God’s will for us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas