Third Sunday of Advent Year C
Zephaniah 3:14–18a
Isaiah 12:2–3, 4, 5–6
Philippians 4:4–7
Luke 3:10–18
“Joy to the World!” is one of the songs we can expect to sing out at Christmas. Often, it is the final hymn that reverberates through the church as the congregation leaves to the sound of bells and delight expressed by all who have been together for Christmas Mass. Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, anticipates that very joy.
A cry of gladness is an experience that comes from the whole person. Body, mind and spirit, heart and soul are all engaged in such a cry. It is something that cannot be faked, or can happen only partially. It is a spontaneous and true expression that comes from a person willing to let go and simply to be in the moment. Children know this. When you are on your way to Grandma’s house, you begin to recognize familiar landmarks and realize that a warm kitchen and homemade cookies are awaiting your arrival. Your heart leaps with joy and you can already begin to taste Grandma’s special recipe.
The Liturgy of the Third Sunday of Advent presents us with the call to joy, and, at the same time, to a call to reckoning as expressed by the figure of John the Baptist. The crowds who gather to hear John’s preaching are anticipating a fulfillment and are in expectation of the arrival of a messenger from God. They ask, “What should we do?” Every class of person receives an answer that is tailored to his or her life, seeking a change of mind and heart, an attitude of openness.
John’s readiness to respond and his manner of preaching give the hearers cause to wonder whether he is the expected Messiah. As we know, all will be surprised when the Messiah manifests Himself, even John. His explanation acknowledges that he is not the one they are seeking. “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The call to joy and the call to purification are the same invitation to holiness of life. We are not called to be the source of our own salvation. Our actions and readiness to respond are important, but the One Who is Coming is greater than John and greater than any of us can grasp. The Holy Spirit that will accompany Him will purify us and make us capable of living a greater life than we can imagine. We can only dispose ourselves to what is to be given by the Messiah.
Christmas, the revelation of the Messiah, is right around the corner. In these latter days of Advent, we are invited to make ready the way in our own hearts. Let us prepare to welcome Him into our lives even as we complete our Christmas plans. He Who is Coming is already with us. “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.”
Parishes continue to offer opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a wonderful Sacramental way to free our hearts from whatever may hold us back from welcome. Let the Holy Spirit, who has been poured out for the forgiveness of sins, be given free reign through the Sacrament of Mercy. Then you will be able to “cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.”