Third Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 8
Reading 1
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
Reading 2
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
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
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
MY BROTHERS AND SISITERS,
Advent gives us an opportunity for recommitment and renewal. In reality, nothing is preventing us from celebrating this renewal each day. Paul tells us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice.” This is an approach that can bring about a new outlook on life and an orientation towards that which is the perfect good. Too often the pressures of daily life overwhelm our thoughts and prevent us from having an appreciation for God’s creation. This then impedes our relationship with Him as we dictate to ourselves what we think is important and what will lead us to some sort of satisfaction. Saint Mother Theresa said, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” Our minds naturally work against this concept and mask the intricacies of the beauty that surrounds us. This thought process goes against intimacy and inhibits our understanding of who we are in relation to God. Created in His image, we are then prevented from fully understanding ourselves. To know God is to know ourselves. How can we know who we are if we don’t attempt to enter a relationship with the one who created us? This state of knowing comes through joy. Joy, the state of being that forces out all that is negative and opens the floodgates of elation. No physical action is necessary to obtain this. It is always present. There is only a question of access, which comes with an acceptance of God’s love and of who we are. Notice how both Isaiah and Paul mention rejoicing with no preconditions. It is just an act of doing; a reminder that there is both an ever-present reason for this, regardless of any circumstances that we may find ourselves in, and an underlying reason. When that reason is given the importance that it should be given, it becomes all the easier to rejoice. Rejoicing then brings about joy. Joy becomes the springboard to only good things. It can be a vehicle to a new way of doing things. Instead of doing things out of frustrated obligation, things are done out of a wantonness to do good for the sake of goodness in a state of constant rejoicing. Joy is not a reaction to something but instead is a state that brings about action. All these actions are naturally oriented towards positive things while negative things are forced out. There is no room for them.
It is an enigma how simply being joyful can defeat the dark forces in the world and within us. The Incarnation, the Word becoming flesh, emphasizes this. Our savior, coming into this word innocent and undefiled, was seemingly helpless. He was as helpless as any child opening its eyes from a blissful sleep, only to look into the eyes of its caretaker upon awakening to smile with contentment and joy. That joy has the capability to disarm armies and part the darkness of evil, welcoming in the light. It is a smile of knowing and understanding. In that moment, the truth of all creation is realized. There is truth. There is love. There is salvation. All of creation is built upon that smile and what it represents. Through it, we are invited to constantly celebrated where we are now and where we are going, our destination realized through Jesus Christ. The promise holds firm and is true. The Holy Spirit, the love of God, is nestled within us and can burst forth with the awakening and smile of that child. As the song says, “Awake from your slumber! Arise from your sleep! A new day is dawning for all those who weep.” The Kingdom of God is truly realized through seemingly helpless and innocent.
The Gift of Joy sets us firmly in the right direction. Celebration can only result. There is nothing more that needs to be done to retain it. Truth is realized and proper conduct comes naturally. The only way to stop it is to get in its way and pull ourselves out of that state. This an act of defiance against God. Paul warns us about this today: “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.” In other words, don’t screw it up. We do have a propensity to do this. We have the capability of quelching the work of the Holy Spirit by thinking that we know better. It is better to do nothing, resting in the Spirit, then to take our will back from God and do things our way. Discernment is sometimes necessary, to separate what is good from evil, all the while rejecting that which did not come from God. This is simpler than it sounds. It comes easy when the smile of that child is remembered. Created by God, He is always with us to cajole us back into the right direction. This direction offers all we could ever need: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. All are interconnected and all work together intertwined for eternity. For God is eternal and we are with Him. That in itself is Joy.
Deacon Tom
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