アドベント第3週は伝統的に「喜びの主日」ですが、厳しい現実に直面しモヤモヤしていても、無理に喜ぶ必要はありません,。

洗礼者ヨハネでさえ、牢獄の中で「あなたがメシアですか」と問いかけました,。これは、彼が期待した「敵を討ち悪に報いる神」の姿と、イエスが罪人を癒し、貧しい者に寄り添う現実とのギャップに耐えきれなくなった切実な問いでした,,。

イエスは、人の知恵を超えた「啓示」として、傷ついたものを癒し、新しい命を吹き込む救い主として来られました。救いの扉は、私たちが自力で開くものではなく、神が外側から開いてくださいます。

私たちが期待したあり方とは違う仕方で、主は確実に救いに来てくださいます。今、希望を抱けないと感じても大丈夫です。このアドベントの時、静かに主の来臨に身を委ねましょう。

The third week of Advent is traditionally known as “Gaudete Sunday,” the Sunday of rejoicing. Yet even when we face harsh realities and feel unsettled or confused, we are not required to force ourselves to rejoice.

Even John the Baptist, from inside his prison, asked, “Are you the one who is to come?” This was a deeply earnest question, born of his inability to endure the gap between the God he had expected—one who would strike down enemies and repay evil—and the reality of Jesus, who healed sinners and stood alongside the poor.

Jesus came as a “revelation” that transcends human wisdom: a Savior who heals what is wounded and breathes new life into what is broken. The door to salvation is not something we open by our own strength; it is God who opens it for us from the outside.

In ways different from what we may have expected, the Lord surely comes to bring salvation. Even if you feel unable to hold on to hope right now, that is all right. In this season of Advent, let us quietly entrust ourselves to the coming of the Lord.