3rd Sunday of Advent
This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday which translates as rejoicing Sunday and we light the pink candle on the Advent Wreath also in some places the vestments may be a rose colour. In the readings for this Sunday both John the Baptist and Paul share one belief: that the Lord is very near. God’s nearness didn’t act as a threat to them, but gave them a infectious source of joy that no one could take away. Their joy in the closeness of God gave an edge to their preaching and teaching exhorting others as well as ourselves to prepare the way for of the lord; it also gave them a vision to see the far side of disaster; it moved them to draw others into that sense of joy. None of them was enclosed in his own joy each moved out going round in the hope his inner joy would be caught by the people of their time and place and many people were caught by the joy they had to pass on to them. The picture of John the Baptist as a man of joy is not one you hear about very often. John is usually portrayed as a lonesome figure, with a weird wardrobe and weirder diet remember the hair shirt and the locusts and honey he ate,. But John who rants and raves at anyone with ears to hear was a character who intrigued people and as a result they would seek him out and follow him. People don’t journey into the wilderness just to get insulted; people don’t become disciples for the wardrobe and diet. Here was a man who cared nothing at all for comfort, money or fame, who could not be bought, and who would speak the truth without fear. In John people could see something of God. John spoke to the people in words they understand when he told them exactly what they should be doing.
John made such a deep impression that word goes around that he might be the Christ. Again, that expectant feeling is a measure of John’s effect on people around him. John did not claim to know who the Messiah was going to be instead he tells the people that he is not that person. That role is for someone else, someone greater and more powerful than he was. And as we know that person was Jesus the Son of the Father. We are called to be joyful witnesses to Jesus but as we know with all that is going on around us these days that is not easy especially with the ongoing COVID pandemic and all it has brought to us. There many things in the way’s of the World that continue to block the presence of the Lord from us. Once again we are reminded that It’s time for us to prepare the way for the Lord so that we will be able to welcome him into our lives our hearts and our homes when he comes at Christmas.
As we celebrate our rejoicing and light the pink candle this weekend are we prepared to open our hearts and minds to the fact that the Lord is near and pass on the joy of St. Paul and John the Baptist on to the people around us by the way we live our lives
Fullerton T 