On the third Sunday of Advent, the penitential purple color of the season changes to the color rose as we celebrate “Gaudete” or “Rejoice!” Sunday. We rejoice in the Lord today because he is near as we progress through the weeks of the Advent season.
Each of the readings today reflect the joy of this day in a different way. First, the Prophet Isaiah announces the theme for today as he states: “ I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul.” It is no coincidence that Jesus chooses to read from this same passage in Isaiah when he visits the synagogue in his hometown in Nazareth at the start of his public ministry. He announces with great joy his Good News of salvation: to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners. What a very wonderful summary of Jesus’ mission and ministry.
Then, we hear Paul announce to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.” We need to hear both of these realities this Advent season: to rejoice and to pray! We can only rejoice always if we are praying as an essential part of our lives. God asks us to walk through a normal day while keeping him always in our heart. We respond to that request from God with our prayers. The joy and rejoicing that God calls us to does not come from the material things of this world, but, rather, from the joy of the faith which we hold in our hearts.
Then we have the familiar Advent figure John the Baptist. he also appeared to us last week on the second Sunday of Advent, telling us to prepare a way for the Lord, to make straight his paths. We perhaps see John the Baptist as a stern, grim Advent figure. But the truth about John the Baptist is much more complicated. Today, John gives testimony to the light of Jesus. John realized that he was not the light himself, but that his role was to testify to the light. John the Baptist can be seen as a prophet of joy, a joy that comes out of his humility. Humility does not mean beating ourselves up and denying our gifts and talents. John knew that had an important mission from God. He did not look down in shame. In fact, he did not look at himself at all, but rather looked at himself through Jesus, recognizing the presence of God in him. That brought John joy in his faith. He rejoiced when he brought others to God and to the faith. John’s stark call to repentance led people to joy as well, to joy in their freedom and their humility.
John the Baptist’s joy is rooted in the way he is to be a witness to the world to the light of Christ. This passage we hear today is from the first chapter of the Gospel of John, of how that Gospel announces the birth of Christ into the world. John’s Gospel does not have a story about a manager or shepherds or angels signing “Glory to God in the highest,” but rather the story of the word of God made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John the Baptist is full of joy as he is to bring the light of Christ into the lives of others. We need to see ourselves as having that same role, as bringing the light of Christ to others. Think about how we see Christmas lights and Christmas decorations all around us this time of the year. Yet, do most people realize anymore the Christmas lights as symbols of the light of Christ in our dark winter months? Many people in our society will not have the light of Christ brought into their lives if that light is not witnessed to them. Especially in this year of the pandemic, many people have experienced so much darkness and fear in their lives. Many feel a lack of hope right now. Even those with lives that are prosperous and financially secure may still live in a darkness that the light of Christ has not illuminated. Usually, this time of the year is filled with so many gatherings and parties. This is a year when many of us have had to make a lot of sacrifices and to accommodate a reality we would have never dreamed would happen. But this year in the pandemic, without those things, perhaps this is a good time to really delve into our faith and to rediscover different aspects of Advent and Christmas that we have not previously emphasized. There is alway a tension between the light and the darkness in our lives. Perhaps that tension feels more acute right now.
Many are frustrated that we can’t have a lot of church activities right now. But, it is interesting, to be honest, some of the people who I see on Facebook and the social media complaining about the clampdown on the churches, they are not the ones who are super active and engaged in their faith even in normal times. We don’t have in-face religious education and adult faith formation, but we have virtual opportunities, we have the FORMED website, we have small faith groups meeting on-line. We have Masses almost every day of the week. Masses streamed on the internet five days a week. There are still a lot of ways we can remain engaged in our faith.
The Christ Ignite Your Parish Advent series that we’re using with our small groups asked us this week to think about the presence of light in our lives. I thought about the time I lived in Canada. One Christmas break, I spent several weeks at a mission in northern Canada, near the border with the the Northwest Territories. It was frigidly cold there, getting as cold as 30 below zero. It was also very dark. The sun did not rise until 10:00 in the morning, then it set again at 3:30 in the afternoon. There was not a lot of light in the days up there. It was cold and dark. I remember Christmas eve in the mission church with the native people there, with the church service in their native language and with their native cultural traditions. I remember visiting the families with the priest in their humble homes. In the dark cold days, the light of their faith was still shining. There was a lot of warmth and love among the people. May we all see ourselves as messengers of Christ’s light.
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