Third Sunday of Advent - Year B (John 1:6-8, 19-28)

Among you stands one whom you do not know. Begging the pardon of any who might read this, I am going to take this statement in a direction that might seem out of sync with the apparent intentions of the evangelist. I want to move beyond knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ to knowledge of and relationship with the Christ who is present to us “sacramentally” in the poor and marginalized of our world.
Among you stands one whom you do not know: the “homeless vet” asking for a handout at the freeway off ramp; the drag queen beaten and left for dead in the back alley; the children of “illegals” who are now afraid to go to school; the bullied teen; the lonely elderly; the list goes on and on. And the amazing truth, my brothers and sisters, is that not a one of us, not even John the Baptizer (whom Jesus calls the greatest man born of woman), is worthy to untie the sandal thong of any of these.
Among you stands one whom you do not know. To focus our Advent hope and expectations on the coming Christ while failing to recognize his presence among us is to seriously miss the point and to stand in risk of judgment. To know these is to know the one who comes after them.