BUT ELIJAH MUST COME FIRST

Matt 17: 9a, 10-13

The disciples have just seen Moses and Elijah before Jesus in the Transfiguration on the mountain. After seeing this miracle of the apparition of Moses and Elijah communing with Jesus, they were reassured that Jesus is the Messiah who is destined to be the great liberator and ruler of Israel.  And to confirm what they have seen this is why they ask: Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? In general, people believed that Elijah had to return to prepare the coming of the Kingdom. Prophet Malachi said: “Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes.” (Mal 3, 23-24; cf. Eccl. 48, 10). The disciples want to know: What does the teaching of the Doctors of the Law mean, when they say that Elijah has to come before?” Because Jesus, the Messiah, was already there, had already arrived, and Elijah had not come as yet.

In reply, Jesus says that Elijah has come but people did not recognize him; people rejected and persecuted him. And the Messiah who is already in their midst will also suffer the same fate as Elijah did. My question is: Why this prediction of Jesus’ suffering and death while we are waiting for his birth? Why this message of death in time of Advent; the preparation for Christmas? It seems that Jesus reminds us that we should not separate the cross from his birth. The only way the messiah will fulfill his mission here on earth is to die on a cross. And this death is not a sign of humiliation but a sign of glory through which we are saved.

In that sense, the season of Advent assists us to locate the right signs that lead us to the mystery of the cross; a season that leads us to an encounter with the crucified Messiah. These signs can be occasions, venues, persons or anything that brings us to a spiritual experience with Jesus. Are we willing to welcome him as a suffering Messiah? Let us pray that he may help us to prepare for his coming.