From: Luke 7:18b-23

The Mission of John the Baptist

[18b] The disciples of John (the Baptist) told him of all these things. [19] And
John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are
You He who is to come, or shall we look for another?” [20] And when the men
had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are
You He who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” [21] In that hour He cured
many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind He
bestowed sight. [22] And He answered them, “Go and tell John what you have
seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to
them. [23] And blessed is he who takes no offense at Me.”

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Commentary:

18-23. “It was not out of ignorance that John enquired about Christ’s coming in
the flesh, for he had already clearly professed his belief, saying, ‘I have seen and
have borne witness that this is the Son of God’ (John 1:34). That is why he does
not ask, ‘Are You He who has come?’ but rather, ‘Are You He who is to come?’
thus asking about the future, not about the past. Nor should we think that the
Baptist did not know about Christ’s future passion, for it was John who said, ‘Be-
hold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world’ (John 1:29), thus
foretelling His future immolation, which other prophets had already foretold, parti-
cularly Isaiah (chapter 53) [...]. It can also be replied, with St. John Chrysostom,
that John made this enquiry not from doubt or ignorance, but because he wished
his disciples to be satisfied on this point by Christ. Therefore, Christ gave His re-
ply to instruct these disciples, by pointing to the evidence of His miracles (verse
22)” (St. Thomas Aquinas, “Summa Theologiae”, II-II, q. 2, a. 7 ad 2).

22. In His reply to these disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus points to the mira-
cles He has worked, which show that he has investigated the Kingdom of God;
He is, therefore, the promised Messiah. Along with miracles, one of the signs of
the coming of the Kingdom is the preaching of salvation to the poor. On the mea-
ning of “the poor”, see the notes on Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20 and 6:24.

Following the Lord’s example, the Church has always taken special care of
those in need. In our own time the Popes have stressed time and again the du-
ties of Christians in regard to poverty caused by man’s injustice to man: “Selfish-
ness and domination are permanent temptations for men. Likewise an ever finer
discernment is needed, in order to strike at the roots of newly arising situations
of injustice and to establish progressively a justice which will be less and less
imperfect [...]. The Church directs her attention to these new ‘poor’—the handi-
capped, the maladjusted, the old, various groups on the fringe of society—in order
to recognize them, help them, defend their place and dignity in a society har-
dened by competition and the attraction of success” (Paul VI, “Octogesima Ad-
veniens”, 15).

23. These words refer to the same thing Simeon prophesied about when he re-
ferred to Christ as a sign that is spoken against, a sign of contradiction (cf. Luke
2:34). People who reject our Lord, who are scandalized by Him, will not reach
Heaven.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25 ©

Apart from me, all is nothing.

I am the Lord, unrivalled,

I form the light and create the dark.

I make good fortune and create calamity,

it is I, the Lord, who do all this.

Send victory like a dew, you heavens,

and let the clouds rain it down.

Let the earth open

for salvation to spring up.

Let deliverance, too, bud forth

which I, the Lord, shall create.

Yes, thus says the Lord,

creator of the heavens,

who is God,

who formed the earth and made it,

who set it firm,

created it no chaos,

but a place to be lived in:

‘I am the Lord, unrivalled:

there is no other god besides me.

A God of integrity and a saviour:

there is none apart from me.

Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth,

for I am God unrivalled.

‘By my own self I swear it;

what comes from my mouth is truth,

a word irrevocable:

before me every knee shall bend,

by me every tongue shall swear,

saying, “From the Lord alone

come victory and strength.”

To him shall come, ashamed,

all who raged against him.

Victorious and glorious through the Lord shall be

all the descendants of Israel.’

Psalm	Psalm 84:9-14

Gospel	Luke 7:19-23 ©

John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?’ When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else?”’ It was just then that he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. Then he gave the messengers their answer, ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’