Thursday 11 December 2025
St Damasus I
Isaiah 41:13-20. The Lord is kind and merciful; slow to anger, and rich in compassion – Ps 144(145):1, 9-13. Matthew 11:11-15.
Liberation of the oppressed
Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist because messengers have come on John’s behalf to ask if Jesus is ‘the one to come or are we to wait for another?’ When John was baptising, he seemed sure that Jesus was ‘the one’. But John is in Herod’s prison now; he seems to have lost his assurance concerning his cousin. Furthermore, Isaiah had promised that the blind would see and prisoners would be set free. Jesus tells the messengers to report to John his miracles – ironic, given Isaiah, to report them to a prisoner in a dungeon. Jesus then praises John as ‘more than a prophet’; but also confirms that there are aggressive forces opposed to the Kingdom of God. Healing the blind overcomes natural evil. For the oppressed to be liberated takes conversion of powerful men, and since God has given men free will, the task is harder.
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