Sunday 17 December 2023 – III of Advent

+ From the Gospel according to John (1,6-8.19-28)

A man sent by God came:
his name was Giovanni.
He came as a witness
to bear witness to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He wasn’t the light,
but he had to bear witness to the light.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent him priests from Jerusalem and stood up to ask him: “Who are you?”. He confessed and did not deny. He confessed: “I am not the Christ.” Then they asked him: «Who are you, then? Are you Elijah?”. “I’m not,” he said. «Are you the prophet?». “No,” he replied. They then said to him: «Who are you? So that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He replied: “I am the voice of one crying in the desert: Make the way of the Lord straight, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
Those who were sent were from the Pharisees. They questioned him and said to him: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”. John answered them: «I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who comes after me: I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.”
This happened in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Word of the Lord