Homily for the
3d Sunday of Advent
Dec. 12, 2021
Luke 3: 10-18
Collect
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle,
N.Y.
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx, N.Y.
“O God, enable us to attain the joys of so great a
salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing” (Collect).
So we prayed in the collect of the Mass a few
minutes ago. That theme of joy gives
today its name, Gaudete Sunday (“Rejoice Sunday”), from the 1st word of its
entrance antiphon, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always.”
That joyful theme is the reason why we lighten Advent’s usual purple hue with rose in our vestments and in the candle for Advent’s 3d week. The rose color also ties in nicely with the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, usually celebrated on Dec. 12. One of the 2 great signs of her presence that the Virgin Mary manifested was the abundance of unseasonal roses that St. Juan Diego plucked and brought to the skeptical bishop of Mexico in December 1531. The other sign was—and remains—the miraculous image of the pregnant, mestizo Virgin Mother imprinted on Juan Diego’s cloak, which pilgrims still view today even tho that cheap woven fabric should have disintegrated centuries ago. Mary’s message to the oppressed native population of Mexico was one of joy because she and her Son love them deeply and are present to them in their poverty and afflictions.
1,500 years before Mary appeared to Juan Diego,
John the Baptist appeared in the Judean wilderness announcing a baptism of
repentance to prepare for the coming of the Lord, as we heard last Sunday (Luke
3:1-6). Today we hear more about John’s
message. His message is a mix of glad
tidings, divine demands, and warnings.
Last week’s gospel passage ended, “All flesh shall
see the salvation of God” (3:6). This is
cause of rejoicing: “Rejoice in the Lord
always. The Lord is near” (Phil 4:4,5). Today’s passage concludes, John “preached
good news to the people” (3:18). The
good news of God’s salvation is offered to everyone, even to tax
collectors—Jews working traitorously for the Roman oppressors—and soldiers,
probably rough, unsympathetic servants of King Herod (3:12-14).
On tax collectors, soldiers, and everyone John
lays demands of justice: share your
abundance with the poor, don’t cheat or take advantage of people in your
business dealings, be honest, don’t be arrogant or overbearing.
More good news:
God’s Mighty One is approaching, viz., the Messiah. He’ll purify the repentant with the fire of
the Holy Spirit (3:16).
But a warning too:
the unrepentant will be burned by that fire, consumed like chaff or the
deadwood you might collect on your property.
What does John the Baptism have to say to us? Do we want to be the wheat that God’s Mighty
One will gather into his barn (3:17)? Do
we want to be gifted with the salvation of God that John, 1st, and then Jesus
announced? Then we must repent and
confess our sins. We must ask, like the
people who came to John, “What should we do?” (3:10). We must live as Jesus tells us to: merciful, forgiving, kind, patient, generous,
pure of heart, honest, truthful. We must
pray and read the holy Scriptures, developing a personal relationship with Jesus
and with his Father.
In such a relationship, we will “attain the joys
of so great a salvation.” We’ll have
cause to “rejoice in the Lord always.”
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