Today is the 3^rd Sunday of Advent – the time when we prepare for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, not only as a remembrance of his birth at Christmas, but also, for his second coming, at the end of the world. We are also half way through Advent at this point, so this is called Gaudete Sunday – meaning to rejoice. It is a time to be hopeful – a time to be encouraged and not to despair - for what we have been promised, the coming of the savior of the world, will indeed occur. It is important to remember that joy springs forth from hope.

In today’s 1^st reading the prophet Isaiah is encouraging the Israelites who are in captivity and exile to take heart and not to despair. He calls on them to regain their hope. He tells them that the end is in sight – at least in his prophetic sight. Although he was without any confirming evidence, Isaiah was called to be a prophet of hope to a hopeless people. And you know what, he has a good word for us as well. In spite of all the fears of world terrorism, our on-going war, the fear of anthrax and smallpox and the rest, and despite our current economic recession, and the shootings in our neighborhood and the violence in our schools, we must not allow ourselves to be pulled into depression and anxiety. And the way out of fear is hope. It is hope that allows us to face-up to and endure the challenging crises in our daily living and life.

Look at the birth of a child. It is the anticipation of the baby’s arrival that gives a mother the strength to endure all the difficulties of pregnancy and the hours and pain of the labor. It is the anticipation of the eventual peace and quiet of an empty nest that gives parents the strength to endure the turbulent teenage years of that same child. It is the hope of an eventual good career that allows the student to finish his schooling. It is the hope of returning home that sustains the soldier serving his or her country in Afghanistan or elsewhere. And Isaiah knows that it is God who is the source of our ultimate hope. If our hope is grounded in our faith instead of our own optimism, or our own abilities, or in the government, or in the performance our stock portfolio, then that hope can carry us through the most challenging times of our lives. Heart attacks, deaths of loved ones, loss of our income, and threats of danger cannot overcome the hope that God is present in every moment of our lives.

But we must be patient. That is what St. James is saying in today’s 2^nd reading. He was encouraging the people then, and us now, to persevere and be patient in times of hardship and challenging crisis. Think of the farmer, he says, who knows what he has planted in the ground. He knows the power is in the seed to emerge and flourish and bear fruit. But he knows that he also has to wait for the Autumn and Spring rains. For a long time there is no sign of life, it is buried in the earth. Then the miracle happens. The earth breaks open to reveal the new life and to give us food and fruit and flowers.

Life is like that, St. James says. We must wait patiently and not lose hope. Rather, we must help each other to hope. He goes on to say, "As your models in suffering hardships and in patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord."

Neither, he nor us has to look very far. In today’s gospel, we find John the Baptist in prison, in chains and in confusion. His once forceful preaching has been halted. In Herod’s prison cell, his once wide world and still wider vision of the coming Messiah had shrunk to the width of his narrow prison cell. His entire life had been dedicated to only one cause: to announce the coming of the Messiah. Now, confined in prison, he wonders what Jesus, who he had baptized in the Jordan and singled out as the Messiah, is doing.

He must have thought to himself, where is he now? Doesn’t he know I’m in prison? And if he is truly the Messiah, why doesn’t he get me out of prison? The Messiah, after all, has all power in heaven and on earth; when is he going to establish his kingdom?

Doing what you and I might do, John sends some of his disciples to Jesus to see what he is in fact doing, and to ask him: "if he is really the One who was to come, or should we look for another?"

The answer Jesus gives is not a simple "yes," for that would leave too much unsaid. Jesus knew that John needed reassurance that his faith was justified. So Jesus responded with words that he knew John would understand, words that would erase his slightest shadow of a doubt, for it is by one’s works, not words, that we are truly known.

Jesus responded with words from the Prophet Isaiah: "tell John: "the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good new preached to them. Blessed is the man who does not lose faith in me!"

What a relief to hear those words. John can now persevere to the end. His life is not in vain. His patience is not pointless. They point to the power of goodness and love, for which he is prepared to suffer for the sake of others.

Hope allows us to envision a better future than the current challenge in our life. It is the hope of the finish line that lets a weary runner place one foot in front of the other when the muscles ache so severely. It is the hope of a miracle comeback that keeps a losing team on the field with time running out. It is the hope of just one more survivor that motivates the weary rescue worker at the scene of a disaster like the World Trade Center. Hope is the fuel in the engine of life. And for the followers of Jesus Christ, hope is spelled G-O-D.

The truth is that none of us are immune to the troubles of this world, nor to the agonies that cause people to despair. But the seed of hope has been planted in us, and hope is bright, because Jesus is the light shining in the darkness. Let us then let us give to others what God has given to us – a reason to rejoice!