Sunday, December 17, 2023

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

(Isaiah 61:1-2.10-11; I Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8.19-28)

Liturgists call this third Sunday of Advent “Gaudete Sunday.” In case you don't remember, guadete means rejoice. We should rejoice because the coming of the Lord is closer than we thought. He will come in a sense when we celebrate Christmas in two weeks. He will also come at the end of time to claim us as the chosen ones of His Kingdom. Because he considers this second coming almost at hand, Paul tells the Thessalonians in the second reading, “Rejoice always.”

There is certainly a lot of joy in the air these days. People are celebrating the end of the year with parties and vacations. But this joy is not of the same as ours as Christians. The joy of those who attend parties has to do with the social consensus of relaxing at the end of the year from tedious work. The consensus gives permission for people to have fun with plenty of drinks, food, and loud music. Taken to the extreme, this fun could lead to ruin. But it is not bad in itself. Moderate relaxation protects the person from the false idea that humans were created primarily to produce things.

In any case, our Christian joy is different. It should always remain in our hearts because it is rooted in the fact that Christ has guaranteed us a glorious destiny. Today we emphasize joy because the Lord will come soon to fulfill this destiny for us. When we enjoy homemade cookies and eggnog on Christmas Day, it will be because he has come to make us spiritually alive like himself.

John the Baptist serves as our guide. He sheds all illusion of his own greatness. He clearly says that he is not the messiah nor any other prophet. Rather he is just the voice crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” John is a person who wants to serve, not be served. His service consists of chastening people to reform their lives so that the Lord does not pass them by when he comes.

For many it is difficult to accept this call from Juan. Sin has blurred the moral landscape so much that many never see themselves as the perpetrators of evil but only its victims. Greed, lust, and selfishness have dominated their lives. Still, they do not recognize themselves as in need of reform. Nor do they feel the need for a savior to rescue them from precariousness. They think that with good psychological guidance they can solve their problems and live well. Although there is a place for psychological help, it will not overcome the evil that causes the ruin of souls.

We live in a time that philosophers call “post-Christian.” Many people throughout the world do not believe in God, and even fewer accept the Christian faith. In many cases they are not fully responsible for their refusal to believe because they have not heard the faith preached with intelligence and conviction. For them as well as for our salvation we want to live our faith with integrity. Doing so, we will be the trunk of Jesse that sprouts a new branch, as Isaiah proclaims in a favorite Advent reading, so that the world may be saved.

It is not bad in itself to participate in the current Christmas celebrations. Certainly, humans are not made only to work. May we rejoice with others. But may we always carry in our hearts the firm conviction that we celebrate, above all, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

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