Homily for the
3d Sunday of Advent
Dec. 11, 2022
Entrance Antiphon
Is 35: 1-6, 10
St. Francis Xavier,
Bronx
“Rejoice in the Lord
always…! Indeed, the Lord is near” (Ent.
Antiphon).
This day, the 3d Sunday of Advent, is called Gaudete Sunday on account of the 1st word of the Entrance Antiphon in Latin, Gaudete, “Rejoice”!
The Church signals
joy to us by allowing the use of rose-colored vestments and, traditionally,
lighting a rose-colored candle in our Advent wreaths. Somber purple is put aside for a day. This happens on only one other day, the 4th
Sunday of Lent.
Why rejoice? The antiphon, which is a quotation from St.
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, gives us the answer: “The Lord is near” (4:4-5). We’re halfway thru our season of waiting, of
anticipating our annual festive remembrance of the birth of our Savior. Thru his incarnation in the womb of the
Virgin Mary and his birth at Bethlehem, God’s Son came near us, lived among us,
walked among us, spoke with us, brought relief to human sufferings—as Jesus
points out in the gospel today (Matt 11:4-6)—and offers us hope of “attaining
the joys of so great a salvation” (Collect), i.e., final and eternal relief
from our sufferings. We hope, as Isaiah
prophesies, to “return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy”
(35:10).
In Zion we hope to be
among Christ’s people, “celebrating always with solemn worship and glad
rejoicing” (Collect). Our anticipation
of that, our confidence that our Lord Jesus is near us even now, is reason to
rejoice, now, in this season, and always:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I
shall say it again: rejoice!” (Phil
4:4).
Our Lord Jesus came
at Bethlehem to save us. His active
ministry was one of saving people, curing their bodily, mental, and spiritual
illnesses. He promises to come again,
this 2d coming in glory with judgment and the completion of the redemption of
us faithful people. “Be patient,
brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord,” St. James urges. “Make your hearts firm, because the coming of
the Lord is at hand…. Behold, the Judge
is standing before the gates” (James 5:7-9).
Of course, we don’t
know the Lord’s timetable for the 2d coming, for the Last Day, for the universal
judgment, however soon—in our human terms—St. James or St. Paul expected
it. But in the face of the world’s
skepticism or indifference toward God’s coming into our human history and
pointing us toward our final destiny, during Advent we give witness that
We did not come from nothing, and we are not going nowhere…. God has entered history for our salvation,
breaking death and freeing us from sin. Each of our lives, and the whole of
creation, has an author, a purpose, and an ultimate destination. Everything we
do, each life we touch, and each day of our lives moves us closer to that final
end. There is tremendous meaning and
worth in that, and tremendous freedom.[1]
We testify that “the
Lord God keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed [and] sets
captives free. . . . The Lord shall
reign forever; your God, O Zion, thru all generations” (Ps 146:6-7,10). This is God’s promise in Christ for Judgment
Day.
We know, moreover,
that our Lord Jesus comes to us even now.
He comes to us symbolically when we celebrate a feast like
Christmas. He comes to us really, truly,
physically in his sacraments, which use tangible, physical signs like bread,
wine, water, oil, and human touch to express the inner, spiritual realities of
his presence—above all in the Holy Eucharist, which is our Lord literally and
truly dwelling with us, coming to us, making himself one with us as we taste
his flesh and blood.
Lord, come and save
us! (Responsorial Psalm). Stay near us;
be our “everlasting joy.”
[1] Ed. Condon, The Pillar
newsletter online, Dec. 9, 2022: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pli=1#inbox/WhctKKXpNWZncnZcBDtFMrjVWkbWcSMjNLZLPqBvWWQjNvllDZTMssFwKrgMxlwHGxcMkxv
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