THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
(Isaiah 35:1-6,10; James 5:7-10; Matthew
11:2-11)
An ancient tradition calls this third
Sunday of Advent “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice.” Now
is a time to rejoice because we have reached the midpoint of our waiting for
Christmas. For this reason, the priest and deacon wear rose-colored vestments,
not the penitential purple of the other Sundays of Advent.
Usually, it’s the second reading that presents
the theme of joy on this Sunday, but not this year. We hear the prophet Isaiah
in the first reading tell the people of Israel, “Rejoice.” The second reading,
from the Letter of James, again encourages the Christian people to be patient
in waiting for the Lord. I would like to explore this theme of hope once more.
We Christians have been waiting for the
Lord since his resurrection from the dead. We want him to vindicate us for
lives of honesty, generosity, and chastity. Our hopes of seeing him are lifted
when we hear phrases like “…is near” in the reading from James. We ask
ourselves, “When will he arrive?” Clearly, the people to whom James wrote had
the same concern. That is why he exhorts them: “Be patient…” It is true that
Jesus Christ will return because he has said so. But the day and the hour, as he
also says, “…no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father” (24:36).
Patience disposes us to suffer and
endure present evils. Waiting is not the worst evil, but we certainly don't
like it. In fact, waiting inclines us to commit regrettable acts. You can see
impatient drivers on the roads risking their lives and the lives of others by
weaving in and out of traffic. Other impatient drivers curse cautious ones, sometimes
scandalizing themselves as well as their passengers.
At the root of our dislike for waiting
is the tendency to think of ourselves as more important than others. We don't
want to endure any inconvenience because we believe ourselves to be superior.
We even have difficulty seeing God as more important. We should have learned
from our mothers that the world doesn't revolve around us, but around God. As Creator
and Sustainer of the universe, we must submit to His will. We can hardly expect
Him to submit to ours.
In the Bible, God regularly commands
patience. He made Noah wait forty days in the ark with a multitude of smelly
animals. He allowed Job to suffer countless severe hardships. As James mentions
in today’s reading, the prophets had to suffer terribly with patience. Elijah,
for example, had to flee from King Ahab's vengeance, nearly succumbing along
the way. Likewise, Jeremiah was thrown into a muddy well in an attempt on his
life.
Patience allows us to suffer until we recognize
our dependence on God for salvation. It enables us to see that our efforts
cannot rescue us from death; only God can do that. It is our faith, purified by
suffering endured with patience, that firmly connects us to Him. This reminds
me of the film "The Hustler," made years ago. A young pool player challenges the reigning
champion to a game. He loses spectacularly but learns from his defeat. The next
time he faces the champion, the young player becomes the new champion. As St.
Paul tells the Corinthians, the young man wins "only a crown that
withers." By waiting patiently for
Christ, however, we win "an incorruptible crown" (1 Corinthians
9:25).
We may not see Christ's return in the
flesh this year. But this does not mean that He will not soon reward our sacrifices
to live honest, generous, and chaste lives. He comes to us in every Mass
and—one might say—particularly at the Mass on Christmas. There in the midst of
our loved ones the peace and joy we experience assures us that our sacrifices
are worthwhile. They are absolutely worthwhile.
