December 14, 2025 Third Sunday of Advent
Daily Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Children of God: Korea has a very special history of Christianity. Long before foreign priest-missionaries arrived in Korea, a small group of Korean scholars discovered the truth of Christianity through books brought from China. They had no priests, no sacraments, and no churches, yet they waited with hope and joy for the day the Word of God would be preached among them. When missionaries finally came, they received the faith with deep gratitude, even though it led to persecution. Many of them were imprisoned and martyred, but their joy never faded. They had found the pearl of great price: that is, faith in Jesus Christ.
When John the Baptist was in his prison cell, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he is indeed the one who is to come. Jesus answers not with arguments, but with evidence of joy and healing: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:5). John, weary and uncertain, is reminded that the Messiah has indeed come, and the Kingdom of God is already at work.
Waiting is never easy, not for John in prison, not for the early Korean Christians, and not for us today. We wait for healing, for reconciliation, for answers to our prayers. Yet Jesus reminds us that waiting with faith is not empty; it is filled with hope and purpose. Even when we cannot see the full picture, God is working quietly in the background, bringing life, peace, and renewal in His own time.
Like those early Korean believers, we are called to wait not in sadness, but in joy. This is the kind of joy that springs from trust. Joy in expectation means believing that God’s promises never fail. It means finding peace even in uncertainty, because we know who we are waiting for: Jesus, our Savior, who comes not to condemn, but to heal and restore.
Children of God: As we journey through Advent, may we learn from the faith of John the Baptist. Let our hearts remain joyful in expectation, for the Lord we are waiting for is faithful. He will come and will not delay. So even in our waiting, let us rejoice, for Emmanuel, God-with-us, is already near.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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