This third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin verb which translates “rejoice”: rejoice because Jesus is about to be born. The rose-colored chasuble vestment this Sunday symbolizes joy!
We have so much to be thankful for. Count our blessings.
Recently, leafing through Genesis, I remembered hearing that a youngster asked each of his parents separately, "Where do people come from?" The mother replied, "God made Adam and Eve and they had children and that's where we came from." His father replied, "We probably evolved from apes." The youngster went back to his mother and said, "You told me God created people, but daddy says they came from apes.” Mom answered, "Well, I told you about my side of the family."
We've heard the word of God from Isaiah, which takes us back probably to the sixth century before Jesus. Jerusalem experienced immense destruction. Yet the author speaks of new beginnings: the desert will bloom; the wilderness will burst with life. The messiah will come.
Isaiah may ask us: what message do we proclaim in our attitudes and behaviors? Each of us is called to embody the Good News, Jesus Christ gloriously alive; and because He lives, we live.
The letter of James urges us to practice patience like the farmer who plants and works with nature to bring forth a harvest. Patience! Better, perseverance!
History abounds with people who say, “it can’t be done.” Luckily, other people say, “it can be done.” They persevere.
In art history we learned of a sculptor who worked on a large piece of marble and lamented, “I can't do a thing with it.” Another sculptor saw the same stone and imagined possibilities; Michaelangelo crafted the statue of David, displayed in Florence, Italy. Yes, a positive attitude does wonders for others and for oneself.
In the Gospel, John the Baptizer announces that he prepares the way for the messiah. John cried out to people who came to the waters of the Jordan, “repent,” live an other-centered, God-centered life. When Jesus walked along the riverbank, John pointed to Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God, through whose bloody death/glorious resurrection we have a right relationship with God.
John was the forerunner of Jesus, the one who prepared the way for Jesus, the bridge between two covenants creating the special relationship between God and us: that of the Hebrews and that of Jesus Christ.
John wasn’t into fashion and gourmet food – he lived a rugged, ascetic life-style. His message was simple. He proclaimed what the prophet Micah begged the Hebrews to do: do what is right, love goodness, walk humbly with God.
John pointed to Jesus as the Light, the Lord, the One to whom we pledge our ultimate allegiance, the “Passover” or sacrificial Lamb through whose blood we have God’s friendship again, God’s eternal life.
The Gospel sums up John’s mission in the song of Zechariah, John’s father: “for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.”
John was indeed the herald of Jesus; and for the courage to speak the truth to King Herod, John was executed.
John challenges us to be courageous heralds of Jesus, evangelizers, missionary disciples, in our families, our workplaces and in our communities by the manner in which we live. Do we strive to be people of integrity, true to that inner voice, our conscience, trying to do the right thing in all decisions, great and small.
We are called to prepare so that Jesus Christ, gloriously alive, can enter into our hearts and the hearts of our fellow human beings; and empower all of us to do right, love goodness and walk humbly with God.
There’s no better place to prepare "the Lord’s way” than in our families. How?
Create a better sense of togetherness, of closeness and care for one another.
Communicate, even if it can only be by phone or email or skype. Be hospitable, concerned about elderly relatives and neighbors who may be alone. Participate together, if possible, in Sunday liturgies.
Spend time with one another; share good news as well as bad; keep your word and thereby build up trust.
Yes, we are called to prepare for the Lord by being, as best we can, men and women of integrity.
This holy season is an opportunity to start afresh by not only creating an even better sense of togetherness in our families, but by cherishing one another more deeply for who we are.
Yes, rejoice and be glad! For Jesus is about to be born.
