The third
Sunday of Advent, which we celebrate today, has traditionally been referred to
as “Gaudete Sunday” taken from the first word of the Latin Introit for today’s
Mass, “Gaudete,” “Rejoice!” Today’s Mass readings and prayers are filled with
expressions of joy and expectation.
In the
first Reading from Isaiah, we heard: “Let the desert and the dry lands exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom . . . let it rejoice and sing for joy. They
shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” Look! Your God is
coming . . . He is coming to save you!” The prophet seems to go overboard with
his excitement and enthusiasm
Isaiah
continues: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf
unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer, and tongues of the mute sing for
joy.” These words will be explicitly applied to Jesus, who through his
ministry, brought this healing into the lives of many people.
All this
is closely related to today’s Gospel. John the Baptist, as we see has already
been arrested for accusing King Herod of divorcing his wife and marrying his
sister-in-law. While in prison, John hears about Jesus and sends some of his disciples
to him with a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for
another?” The one who is to come is the long-expected Messiah. The one who
would make everything right.
Jesus
answers as he does in other similar situations in the Gospels, by not
responding directly to the question. Instead, he says: “Go back and tell John
what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk and lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised and the poor have the Good
News proclaimed to them.”
These
words of Jesus recall the words of the prophet Isaiah. They describe what will
happen when the Messiah comes. It was not a popular image associated with Jewish expectations of the Messiah at that time. They expected a military
figure who would fight the Romans, who occupied and ruled Palestine and drive
them out. Other Jews were expecting a prophet like Moses.
Jesus tells John that the work of God is not bombastic or earth-shattering, as many of us imagine it to be. Jesus tells him to see beyond his narrow expectation of an angry and destructive God and open himself up to a God who heals, shows love, and desires that all might repent and show love, mercy, and compassion.
This
third Sunday of Advent is meant to be one of joy and expectation. Joy must be
embraced as both a goal and a characteristic of those who follow Christ and proclaim
the Good News.
However,
what does the word “Joy” mean in a world of suffering, war, terrorism, and
inequity? In what way can God’s reign be seen as an invitation to joy for the
weak and vulnerable people of our world?
Let us look
at what has taken place in our world this past year. Here are a few examples. In
the United States, there has been a dramatic rise in hate crimes, especially
against people of Asian descent, Jews, people of color, and others considered
on the fringe of society. I read recently that a “hate crime” occurs nearly
every hour in the USA. This past year 611 mass shootings of some kind have been
reported by The Gun Violence Archive.
Other
parts of the world have their own problems. Sudan and Somalia are plagued with
drought, political tensions, floods, disease, and malnutrition.
Syria is in an economic crisis after a ten-year civil war. Myanmar experienced
a military takeover and 330,000 people have been displaced, including the
Rohingya minority. In Yemen, there has been an economic collapse that has
brought about the destruction of their health and education systems. Nigeria
has experienced twelve years of conflict, unrest, and insecurity due to widespread
criminal activity and the rise of violent Islamic terrorist groups that target
Christians. And the litany goes on.
Lest you
think that the state of the world we experience today is unique to our time,
let us look at what was happening in the world at the time when Jesus was born.
The Romans occupied much of the known world from the ancient Near East to
Britain, in the west. Palestine was in the midst of a political and social
meltdown. Herod the Great was coming to an end of a long, bloody, and paranoid
career. He ruled by tactics of mass murder and widespread surveillance that
sounded like a foretaste of the Stalin years.
Wars and
insurrections were everywhere in the ancient world. Political rebels,
subversives, and religiously motivated revolutionaries, akin to ISIS, were in
abundance. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, “Now at this time there
were ten thousand other disorders in Judea, which were like tumults, because a
great number put themselves into a warlike posture, either out of hopes of gain
for themselves or out of enmity to the Jews.” As the preacher of Wisdom in the
book of Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth said: “What has been will be again, and what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9)
All
through Advent, the message to us has been to prepare, be watchful, and stay awake,
the kingdom is here. What are we looking for? That is John’s question. Am I
looking for you or another? It’s not just his question, it’s ours too.
Beneath
John’s question, is the longing to know ourselves, to live with meaning and
significance. It is not about the right answer but about living the right
relationship with ourselves, with each other, and with God. The Messiah comes
to bring life, not an answer to a question.
What do
you hear and see? Look around, pay attention, watch, and listen.
Think of
the times when you have had new insights in your life when your thinking about
a person or situation changed. Think of times when you discovered beauty in a
place or person that you thought just couldn’t be. Think of the times when you
felt that you were stuck in a place, hit rock bottom, and could not go
on. Suddenly you see change and progress. Think of the times when you
experienced shame, guilt, and embarrassment and wished the earth would open and
swallow you up. Then one day you realize God loves you as you are. Think of the
times when you felt empty and had nothing left to give. Then unexpectedly,
someone gives you encouragement, hope, or love. Are we not the blind who see
again, the lame who walk, the lepers who are cleansed, and the deaf who hear?
These are
the moments of our life when we recognize the One to come. Yes, God comes – to us!
As the Letter of St. James says: “The coming of the Lord is at hand.”
“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.” Look! Your God is
coming . . . He is coming to save you!”
Photograph and homily by Father Emmanuel.
