GOSPEL MEDITATION
December 14, 2025
Third Sunday of Advent
Matthew 11:2-11
When I was 11, I was riding my bike on a Friday night in Scottsdale, Arizona. I saw giant spotlights swirling in the sky. Something amazing had to be happening. I pedaled after them with excitement. Sweaty and tired, I arrived, only to find a used car lot. Bright lights, flapping banners, inflatable balloon men swaying wildly in the wind. I stood there, heart sinking. All that spectacle, and all my effort … for this?
As life proceeds, we learn what it is like to pursue promising but fruitless searches. This week we hear Jesus ask the crowds regarding John the Baptist: “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?” (Matthew 11:7). He’s not just describing the crowd’s mis-aimed pursuit. He’s naming our tendency to chase after what’s flashy but flimsy.
What are our swaying reeds? For me, it is endless video reels on my phone, worldly pleasures, entertainment in sports, and the good opinion of others. Inflated distractions that bend whichever way the wind blows. But they can’t satisfy my soul. What are your flimsy reeds?
John the Baptist wasn’t a swaying reed. He was rooted, grounded, unafraid to speak the solid truth. The people went to see him because, deep down, they were starving for something real.
This Advent, the Church asks us to reassess: What are we really looking for? Are we chasing the dazzling but hollow? Or are we seeking what is solid and lasting — that which points to Christ?
— Father John Muir
©LPi
