3 Sunday of Advent, Year C
John the Baptist’s question from prison reminds us that even deep faith can waver, especially in moments of suffering and disappointment. Jesus teaches that he is recognized as the Messiah not through arguments or certainty, but through lived experience—through healing, hope, and lives quietly transformed. The Gospel invites us to stop searching for substitute saviours and instead prepare space in our own lives, and in the lives of others, for Christ to be encountered.
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In the Gospel today, we are presented with what is, if we are honest, a somewhat uncomfortable situation—something that might unsettle us a little. We are presented with the figure of John the Baptist, who is now in prison.
Recall that just last Sunday we heard about this incredible preacher: John the Baptist, courageous in the wilderness, calling people to repentance, calling them to prepare to receive the Messiah. John the Baptist, of course, even baptized Jesus. He saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him and heard the words from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We would assume that John the Baptist had unflappable faith, that he never doubted, that he possessed absolute certainty.
And yet, today in the Gospel, while John the Baptist is in prison, we hear him send a message through his disciples to Jesus, asking: “Are you really the one, or should we wait for another?” In other words, Are you, Jesus, the Messiah—the Saviour, the Christ—the one who is to liberate us?
This is an unsettling question, especially because it comes from John the Baptist, a man of such great faith. And yet, this Gospel is important because it gives us permission to voice doubts we ourselves may experience in our lives as believers. At times, we may struggle. We may wonder whether Christ is all we hoped for, whether Jesus is truly enough for us, whether he really is our Saviour and Messiah.
John the Baptist teaches us that even deeply faithful people—people who pray, who come to Mass, who live devout lives—can experience doubt and struggle. Each of us, in our Christian journey, encounters this. John’s example reminds us that this is a normal part of life as believers.
We find John today in a very difficult situation. Often, doubt arises precisely in moments of hardship. John has been imprisoned. He is struggling. We know that he will eventually be put to death. It is in this moment of suffering that he voices his question: Is Jesus the Messiah, or should we look for another?
We can see ourselves in John’s experience. We may pray faithfully and come to Mass, yet life does not always turn out as we hope. Illness enters our lives. Relationships break down. We may find ourselves without work, or lacking the things we need or long for. And we, too, can ask the same question: Is Christ truly the Messiah, or should we look for another?
In times of difficulty, we may search elsewhere for fulfilment or liberation. We may pursue ambition or wealth. We may distract ourselves with noise, busyness, or comfort—anything that promises to numb the pain or fill the emptiness.
St. Augustine, who lived about four hundred years after the time of Jesus, offers a powerful example of this searching. In his autobiography, Confessions, Augustine describes his long search for fulfilment and salvation. He looks for it in relationships, ambition, power, wealth, and various philosophical traditions. And finally, he discovers that true fulfilment is found in God through Jesus Christ. In his famous words, he writes: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
From both John the Baptist and St. Augustine, we learn that doubt and searching can be part of our journey toward Christ. We may wonder whether Jesus truly is the Messiah, the Saviour in our lives.
The response Jesus gives to John is very telling. It teaches us how we come to know, with certainty, that Jesus truly is the Messiah. Jesus does not give John an argument or a proof. Instead, he points to experience, to encounter, to relationship.
When I was in university, I was one of the few among my friends who still went to Mass. I tried my best, though I was not always perfectly faithful. Many of my friends had grown up Catholic or Christian but had stopped practising, and others had no faith at all. We had many good conversations, and often the question was asked in different ways: Why do you believe? Why are you still Catholic? Why do you believe in Jesus?
At the time, I did not have a strong answer, and perhaps I still struggle to articulate one fully. But over the years, especially as a priest, I have journeyed with people of deep faith—even in the midst of suffering and difficulty. I have heard answers to that question that resonate deeply with me, and I believe they reflect the experience of many.
Some people say: “I stayed because when I actually prayed—when I really prayed—I became more patient, more honest, less fearful. I didn’t get all the answers, but I became more human.”
Others speak of suffering: “Christ is the Messiah because when I suffer, he does not disappear. He stays. He does not remove my cross, but he carries it with me.”
Still others say: “Christ is the Messiah because following him calls me out of myself—toward forgiveness, humility, and concern for the poor. Left to myself, I would settle for much less.”
Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel that we come to recognize him as the Messiah through experience. He tells John’s disciples: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the deaf hear, the poor have good news preached to them.”
How would we answer that question ourselves? Why do we believe that Christ is the Messiah? How have we encountered Jesus in our own lives?
Even though John the Baptist struggles, Jesus calls him great—the greatest, in fact—because John prepares the way for others to encounter Christ. He makes space for Jesus to enter people’s lives.
We are called to do the same. We prepare space for Christ through our faithfulness, honesty, integrity, and kindness. We prepare space by living in a way that sparks curiosity. Why does this person respond with forgiveness rather than vengeance? Why do they face challenges with hope rather than despair? Why do they respond with gentleness rather than anger?
Finally, we prepare space through invitation. As we approach the Christmas season, we can invite others to join us for Mass. We can offer to pray with someone who is struggling. In simple ways, we can create moments where Christ can be encountered.
Today’s Gospel presents us with John the Baptist experiencing what is a very human moment—doubt in the midst of suffering. It also shows us that we come to know Jesus as the Messiah through experience: through the ways he heals, liberates, and saves us in daily life.
The Gospel challenges us not to search for counterfeit messiahs, but to be like John the Baptist—to prepare space in our hearts, and in the lives of others, to encounter the Messiah who has already come into the world.
