Advent III

The Third Sunday of Advent [Gaudete]

Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; Psalm Luke 1:46ff (Magnificat); 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1 6-8, 19-28

“Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I say, rejoice.”

 “O God, enable us…to celebrate with glad rejoicing….”

 “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul.”

 “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour…”

 “Brothers and sisters, Rejoice always.”

The liturgy of the Third Sunday of Advent each year calls us to rejoice! Rose coloured vestments and candles on the wreath reinforce the call. Yet as we reflect on the present situation of our world; a world overwhelmed by the sheer volume of innocent suffering. Is joy possible in such a broken and violent world? How difficult is it to even hear the call to rejoice if we are experiencing personal loss, a hurt or a crisis in our lives.

What does it mean to rejoice?

Is joy the same as feeling happy or content? Is it the feeling we experience at the victory of our favourite football team? Is joy satisfaction after completing an activity? In a society like ours filled with cynicism, is joy naïve? Or is Joy simply a dishwashing liquid or a candy bar of almonds and coconut wrapped in chocolate? Joy can seem fleeting and superficial or frustratingly elusive.

Pope Francis in his encyclical entitled, The Joy of the Gospel, offers us insight right in the opening sentence of the letter. “The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.” [EG #1]  Joy arises out of an encounter with a person, the person of Jesus. No thing, no event, no wish or hope will draw this from within us – only a person can do that, Jesus Christ. And if we are in relationship with Jesus, no suffering, no event, no crisis can take that deep seated joy away from us. Thus Francis becomes insistent, “No one should think that this invitation is not meant for them, since “no person is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.”” [EG #3] Any false sense of unworthiness or humility is a self-imposed lie. “No one should think that this invitation is not meant for them…”

The Feast of Christmas invites us, as Francis does, “to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least,” he writes, “an openness to letting Jesus encounter us.” That is why we sing, “O Come, O come Emmanuel.”  If we cannot move toward Jesus, at least might we plead that Jesus move toward us? Think here, shepherd seeking after sheep, a woman sweeping a house for a coin, a father going out after both his prodigal sons.

This encounter and continued relationship with Jesus which is the source of a joy that is rooted in the Holy Spirit can cut through our cynicism, hurt, and feelings of loss; can insinuate itself in the midst of suffering or the search for God that many people today knowingly and unknowingly are engaged in.

That is why Paul who lived in about as turbulent, messy and chaotic of a Roman Empire, as we do in our times, could invite us to rejoice always. That is why Mary on accepting God’s offer of putting herself in the predicament of being pregnant could sing, “my spirit rejoices in God…” That is the reason why John the Baptist on encountering Jesus even in the womb, to Elizabeth’s surprise and dismay I expect, could leap and kick for joy.

But also notice that when Mary sings of joy. When John testimony turns the question away from himself: “I am not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor Moses the prophet.” When Paul offers us prayer, gratitude, openness to the Spirit, and doing good as paths to joyfulness. In each of these examples the focus is not on themselves but on God, on relationship.

When we take such steps toward God we are ultimately saying, “I need you.  Save me once again…”  [EG # 3] And God fills us with the presence of Jesus. In the simplicity of that prayer, “I need you.  Save me…” we come to experience the deep joy of Advent because it is all about relationships being restored.

And as we move toward God, don’t you think God delights and rejoices in us?

“I tell you,…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…”  [See Luke 15ff]

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The opening quotes are as follows from the proper antiphons, prayers and readings of the Third Sunday in Advent: Philippians 4:4, Roman Missal, Opening Prayer, Isaiah 61:10, Luke 1:46, 1 Thessalonians 5:16.