https://sacredquest.substack.com/p/advent-3a-when-god-breaks-in
In our readings for this Third Sunday of Advent, we hear that John the Baptist is in prison. John’s disciples come to Jesus, hoping that he is the one John spoke of as the one who would come after him. Jesus does not confirm this for them directly. Instead, he tells John’s disciples, “Go and tell John what you hear and see”—the blind receives their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed. His instruction is gentle and clear: go tell what you hear and see.
Isaiah recounts a similar theme in the readings for the day. After a long and difficult period of waiting for the Lord, Isaiah tells his listeners that the dry land and desert are rejoicing, that the eyes of the blind are opened and the ears of the deaf are unstopped. In effect, Isaiah is offering reassurance to a weary people. After waiting so long, after wondering whether God is truly present, he says: look again. Go tell what you hear and see.
The readings for the day also offer the option of hearing Mary’s Magnificat, which itself is a beautiful and hopeful song of telling what is heard and seen. Mary’s song proclaims that God is already at work among us, shaping our world into the world God dreams for us. It is a world breaking in quietly but surely: the lowly lifted up, the hungry filled, mercy extended from generation to generation. Her song echoes Isaiah and anticipates Jesus—proclaiming the greatness of the Lord and rejoicing in God’s faithfulness.
There are times when we deeply need others to tell us what they hear and see—times when hope feels fragile, when waiting becomes heavy, and when God seems distant. Many generations have known this feeling, and it is not unfamiliar to us today. We, too, may find ourselves wondering whether God hears the cries of the world, or whether God is still breaking into our lives and into our shared reality.
This may be a challenging time for us and for our neighbors: for those who are marginalized, for the poor, for immigrants, for all those whom Jesus consistently placed at the center of his care. And still, Advent does not reprimand us for our questions. Instead, it gently invites us to listen again—to notice small signs of grace—and to hear the quiet refrain: go tell what you hear and see.
For what was promised is indeed breaking upon us, even when it is difficult to recognize. When we have eyes to see and ears to hear—or when we borrow them from one another—we begin to notice God’s presence already at work in our midst.
So I ask you:
Can you see it? Can you hear it?
Can you sense the light of a new day beginning to break?
Can you hear rejoicing where there was once silence?
Can you trust that God is drawing near?
And if you can—even just a little—then go and tell what you hear and see: that God is coming to dwell with us, just as God has promised.