Third Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 7
Reading 1
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.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. Is 35:4) Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD God keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
R. Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Be patient, brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the
Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
"What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Joy is all around us. God’s creation cries out in exultation. How is this joy expressed? By just being and acting out according to the natural order of things. It is a wonderful site to behold when a calf is born. The bonding process starts right away with the mother cleaning the newborn and making it stand up on its feet. It then starts to feed. Within days, the little calf is already frolicking about and playing. Pure joy. The chirping of the birds, the laughter of a child, the sounds of nature are all a testament to true joy. God’s creation is before us and everything cries out in exaltation to Him who created it. We are constantly invited into this never-ending celebration. Reacting to it and participating in it is where we can find our joy, because it is there that we can encounter the true presence of God. That presence can also be found within us for we are an intricate part of what He created. In fact, we are at its summit. What precious gifts we have been given and so many more are yet to be received. There is an opportunity to experience true joy now with God and an everlasting joy with the understanding that the promises He made for us in the future will indeed come to fulfilment.
The Responsory Psalm today is one of not only Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer, but also one that encourages continuous praise and exaltation. Putting our trust and hope in Him instead of earthly things sets us up for success and opens the floodgates of His love. It sets into motion perfection instead of imperfection. It allows Him to constantly shape us into more perfect creations. He is the artist and we become the canvass, He becomes our lover, protector, and comforter. Every experience that we have then becomes a shared experience with Him. It is there that joy in all things becomes evident.
We all face challenges in our lives and there are times we haven’t lived up to, not only our expectations, but the expectations of others. Joy can be found in circumstances such as these also. God wants us as we are and not as what we can be. What we can be can only be achieved through a life that includes Him. He wants to experience everything with us and is waiting for us to invite Him in. The joy that is present here is the type that is realized when we come to know that even in the darkest of times, there is light at the end of a long night. Each day can be a day when we herald the coming of our Lord.
During the Easter Vigil, there is a ritual when the priest says a particular prayer while tracing the symbols on the Easter Candle:
“Christ yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end,
Alpha and Omega,
all time belongs to him,
and all ages;
to him be glory and power,
through every age and forever.”
This serves as a reminder that Jesus Christ is ever-present throughout His creation and is doing the will of the Father. Understanding this can relieve us of the any anxieties we have about what is happening in our lives now and what the future will bring. There is more at work than what we are witness to in current events. There is so much more going on behind the scenes. We are all a part of something bigger. Whatever we are confronted with, negative or positive, will eventually pass. What remains is Jesus Christ and all of us being children of God. Our job as Christians is to be in a constant state of preparation. This serves as a benefit to us and an opportunity to focus continuously on improving our lives. We should be living in the moment, relishing our special relationship with our God, while also looking forward to that moment when Jesus will return in all His glory. In many ways we can liken ourselves to John the Baptist, proclaiming the good news that more is yet to come and that we should all prepare the way. This starts with us and includes everyone. The joy to be found is limitless now and forever.
Deacon Tom
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