Last Monday, when we celebrated the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we heard the Angel of Gabriel announce this to Mary: “Hail Mary! Rejoice Mary - you are full of grace! The Lord is with you!” The announcement to rejoice made by the Angel is a sign to us in the midst of our Advent preparations that God is calling us to rejoice as we prepare for the coming of Jesus into the world. Today, we leave behind our usual Advent color of purple for the joyful color of rose. This Third Sunday of Advent is commonly known as Gaudete Sunday. The word “gaudete” is derived from the Latin word “gaudeo,” meaning to rejoice or to be glad. The term “Gaudete" is taken from the Entrance Antiphon for today’s mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near”. We rejoice that the Advent season will soon come to an end as we come near to our joyful celebration of Christmas. Our readings today reflect the spirit of Gaudete Sunday, giving us encouragement, hope, and joy. Isaiah tells the people of Israel to rejoice and to have hope: “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”
But then we hear from this strange Advent character again - the prophet John the Baptist. In our Gospel last Sunday, John the Baptist was wandering around the desert wilderness, eating strange food and calling the people to repent. Today, our Gospel finds John the Baptist in prison, not a particularly joyful place. John has been imprisoned for speaking the truth to King Herod. John sends his disciples to ask Jesus an important question: Are you the one who is to come? Are you the Messiah? The spiritual joy that we are called to have this Advent season is not a joy that is connected to the material pleasures. Rather, it is a joy that is connected to our faith. We recall the time that Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth; it was John the Baptist who leaped for joy in his mother’s womb, joyfully recognizing that he was in the presence of Jesus and Mary. Later in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist asserts to his disciples that although he himself is not the Messiah, he has been sent by God to announce his coming, and so he rejoices greatly at the voice of the Messiah that he hears at Jesus’ coming into the world, for it has made John the Baptist’s joy complete.
Not many months after he was elected Pope, Pope Francis issued Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel - in November 2013. Pope Francis wanted to put our feeling of joy in the context of our faith, issuing this document on the importance of Gospel joy and the joy of evangelization that we are to feel in our hearts as disciples of Christ. He opened this document by stating: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness.” Christ’s Gospel joy is open to everyone and is to exclude no one, which is a great message for us to hear in a world that is divided and exclusionary in many ways. Advent and Christmas are a busy time with so much to do, with many social and family obligations, with extra bills and expenses, with extra chores and errands to run. We feel very stressed out this time of the year. How can we quiet our hearts and feel the joy of Christ inside with such a busy time of the year? How can we prepare for the coming of the Lord? Pope Francis states that all of us are invited to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus, to let Jesus encounter us in the busy schedules of our lives. You might think that this message is not meant for you, but it is meant for all of us, no matter where we are on our journey of faith. We may think we are engaged as much as we can in our busy lives with our faith, to feel the joy of Christ inside of us, but God is there calling out to us in the joy of our faith.
In an Advent reflection book I am using, I came across this quote from Mother Teresa from when she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in December of 1979 - “Let us keep that joy of loving Jesus in our hearts, and share that joy with all we come in touch with. That radiating joy is real, for we have no reason not to be happy, because we have Christ with us. Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor we meet, Christ in the smile we give and Christ in the smile we receive.” Let us feel the joy of the Advent season with us today.
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