Rejoice always. In all circumstances give thanks.

 

Third Sunday of Advent  C  2024

This third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday -- Rejoice Sunday.  We light the rose colored candle of the Advent wreath.  We wear the rose colored vestments expressing that the joy of Christmas is beginning to invade the Advent season.  (these rose colored vestments for all the world look pink to me.)

In ten words, St Paul expresses the theme of today’s liturgy:  Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks

“Rejoice in the Lord always…The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petitions, with thanksgiving make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

These words were written by the apostle Paul in his Letter to the Philippians.  Where was Paul when these words of joy and hopefulness were written – in a prison cell!  Now mind you Paul is writing from his prison cell.  Paul was not rejoicing in the things of this world; rather Paul was rejoicing because God was with him in his prison cell as he wrote to the Philippian church.

These words of joy -- rejoice in the Lord always – may seem to ignore those in our congregation who are suffering greatly at this time because of a death, a diagnosis, a natural disaster or any one of the heinous crimes that are reported every day in the media.

And yet, the author of these words the apostle Paul certainly knew suffering.  As I say, he wrote these words from his prison cell.  His only crime was preaching the Good News of the love of Jesus for all people.

What the apostle Paul knew in his heart is that real joy comes from knowing that you are unconditionally loved by God.  God is in our midst -- even in a prison cell.   Joy comes from knowing that God is truly present and never abandons us through the trials and or triumphs of life.  God is always there.

The apostle Paul experienced joy in the most challenging of life situations.  That is not to say that there is not sadness in any Christian life – as in any normal person’s life – times of pain, of sickness, of failure, of great loss.  Grieving and letting go is an important part of life but these experiences do not ultimately define us as the disciples of Jesus.  Even in the midst of tears, the words of Jesus to us are:  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Have faith in God and have faith also in me.”

Every experience in life, if we can only realize it, is touched by God and has its meaning.  To repeat, every experience in life, if we can only realizer it, is touched by God and has its meaning.  Once that meaning is found and accepted, inner joy and peace can return.  The great truth of our life is we have everything we need here and now to be happy.  Amen.  The problem is that we identify our happiness with people or things we don’t have and often can’t have.  

In the first Scripture from the prophet Zephaniah, we are told that sin occurs when we search for happiness apart from God, when are too caught in the busyness, the commercialism, the fleeting pleasures of life.  The prophet reminds us that the Lord, your God, is in our midst.  The Lord wishes to rejoice with you and renew you in his love.

We confess the times we have searched for happiness apart from God.  Sometimes we search for happiness in our wealth, in our successes, in our desire to control people and manage what happens in life, in our pride, in our sexuality and so on and so on.

My question for you is how have you experienced happiness in this Advent season, in this holiday season with all its festivities? 

Without doubt there is joy with Christmas celebrations with friends and family and in the sending and receiving of Christmas cards.

Our exterior Christmas decorations are up, and they are beautiful.  What about our interior Christmas decorations?  May we allow the peace of Christ to enter once again into our lives, calming all of our anxieties, and filling us with all that is good.

Will you experience Advent joy in participating in our Advent Day of Penance on Wednesday in the afternoon at Holy Spirit or in the evening at St Joseph’s.  May we experience real joy as we are immersed in the merciful, forgiving love of Jesus? The Sacrament of Reconciliation offers us the opportunity to encounter the Lord and to experience the joy that comes with God’s unconditional love.

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist takes center stage. 

As we listen to the Gospel, the image shifts.  We are standing at the River Jordan, face to face with John the Baptist with all his intensity.  John doesn’t rejoice; John says to repent. 

John’s words strike the crowd with evident power, for they seek instruction:  “What then should we do?”  John does not make radical demands.  Instead, he calls people to fidelity in the very circumstances of their lives.  Those who have more than they need, share with those who have less;  parents, cherish your children; spouses, be faithful; neighbors, live in peace.  Repentance for John calls to be faithful to who we are. 

Don’t wait to be somewhere else, or to be doing something else, or to be someone else -- begin with the road in front of you, walk that road, and so allow God to transform the real life you live right now.

John preached the baptism of repentance.  What does repentance mean in practice?  John’s advice is simple and practical – live charitably and honestly.  Share what you have with the needy; be fair and honest with others in your business dealings; don’t be greedy.   John goes on to say:  “One mightier than he is about to come who will fire us up with the power of the Spirit.”

John’s mission was to help people recognize the presence of Christ who is in our midst. 

We indeed will experience the presence of Christ when we embrace the joy that comes from within – knowing we hold within ourselves the God who wishes to be born again in the inn of our hearts and when respond to John’s call to repentance -- by sharing what we have with those in need.

 

Have a Blessed Day.