The Universal Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, December 16, 2018, as the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical year C. It is also called “Gaudete” Sunday, a Sunday of rejoicing. As we hear in the entrance antiphon: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. Amen”.
The theme of this day’s Eucharist is a repeat of the words of Saint Paul to the first Christians of Philippi: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.” Rejoice for our Lord who is coming. We hear the word “Rejoicing” right from the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah. “Rejoice!” he exclaims. He expresses his faith in the God of Israel, a God of joy and hope, a God of mercy and forgiveness, the true provider for Israel. His shout of joy brings out the traditional theme of Advent. He shouts with joy because our Lord is soon coming among us.
Saint Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, in the second reading, urges us to look forward to the return of the Lord by always being joyful. He recommends tolerance and love of one another as we await the second coming of our Lord and Savior. John the Baptist’s mission is again the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel. The Baptist, like the Old Testament prophets, demands moral uprightness in preparing for the One who is coming. On the threshold of the new age, John the Baptist demands justice and honesty, like many of the prophets before him. His baptism of water, however, will be overshadowed by the Baptism in the Spirit that will be given by a more powerful person, whose sandals John is not able to untie: Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.
In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace of joy and happiness that overshadows any gloom and sorrow we may have in our hearts. Advent is a season of light and hope and joyful expectation of the one to come.
First Reading: Zephaniah 3: 14-18
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! 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.
V/ The word of the Lord
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Zephaniah is one of the twelve Minor Prophets of the Bible. The others are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. They are called minor, not because their works are of less importance than those of the Major Prophets, that is, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, but because their works are generally shorter. For example, the book of Isaiah is 66 chapters long whereas the book of Zephaniah is only 3 chapters long. History tells us that Zephaniah was a prophet who exercised his ministry during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC). Like many prophets before him, Zephaniah continued to warn Judah and Jerusalem that their sins would bring disaster on them and their people. Around this time, Israel experienced the greatest degree of religious corruption in its history. The rulers of Judah and Israel had adopted the religion of their conquerors, the Assyrians, even setting up the idols of pagan gods in the temple in Jerusalem. Pagan worship was already so widespread throughout the land that it almost totally replaced or corrupted the worship of the God of Israel. The court officials remained pro-Assyrian and the people continued to worship the false gods of the Assyrians, the Canaanites and the Ammonites.
Zephaniah’s answer to the immorality of the kings and the people was to proclaim the coming of the day of the Lord. This would be the day of judgment and condemnation that would bring doom to all in Judah and Jerusalem, who were worshiping false gods. It would also be a day that would see the destruction of the nations that had both threatened and corrupted Israel and Judah.
The passage for our meditation comes from the concluding section of this reading. In it, the prophet promises the restoration of those who ask forgiveness of their sins. God is among his people. He will pour out his love upon them. The joy and hope found at the end of the book express the prophet’s faith in a God of mercy, a God of compassion and of forgiveness, who will rescue his people from the bondage of sin and of foreign domination.
What message does the prophecy of Zephaniah have for us in Cameroon, in particular, and Africa as a whole? It clearly states that God does not tolerate the worship of other gods, whether it is idolatry, witchcraft or superstition. Worship is to be given to the one true God, creator of heaven and earth. Zephaniah’s warning seems directed to us in Cameroon today where new idols and gods abound. There is the god of money, the god of unbridled quest for easy wealth, the god of corruption, the god of embezzlement of public funds and the impoverishment of the masses. Let us pray to God during this Advent season to help us to resist the temptation to worship these idols that are fast taking hold in our society, and to instead turn to him alone, the God of compassion, who is slow to anger and quick to forgive. Amen.
Second Reading: Philippians 4: 4-7.
Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Last Sunday, we heard that Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians has customarily been identified as one of four of Saint Paul’s “Captivity Epistles”, being letters Saint Paul wrote when he was in prison. The others are his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon. Given that Saint Paul suffered imprisonment in Ephesus, Caesarea and Rome, it is not always possible to say from where each of these letters was written.
We also mentioned that the community of Philippi was very dear to Paul. Philippi was quite an important city in Saint Paul’s time, both commercially and historically. It was found in Macedonia on an important Roman road that ran from east to west and anyone traveling from Asia Minor to Greece would have stopped there. In the 4th century BC, Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, had built a fortified city there that was named after him. In 168 BC, the Romans overran it and turned it into a Roman colony, its inhabitants enjoying the same rights and privileges as any Italian city.
We also heard that the community at Philippi was the first church Paul founded during his second apostolic journey to Europe round about the year 50 or 51 AD. The Acts of the Apostles give a fairly detailed account of this visit. Shortly after arriving in the city, Saint Paul, accompanied by Silas, Timothy and Luke, went to the place where the Jews used to meet and began preaching there. Their success attracted much hostility from certain Jews, who dragged Paul and Silas to court, had been flogged and thrown in prison. Upon their release, they left for Thessalonica (Acts 16: 25-39).
What was Saint Paul’s intention in writing this letter? First of all, he wanted to thank the Philippians for the gifts they had sent him when he was in prison and to exhort them to be ever more faithful to the Christian way of life. He also warns them against Jews who were seeking to corrupt them.
The passage of our meditation is the traditional reading of this Sunday, ‘Gaudete’ Sunday, or Sunday of rejoicing. He recommends the Philippians to rejoice. How? By keeping aside unnecessary worries and by being tolerant of one another. He then wishes them the peace of God as they await the return of the Messiah. Through them, Paul is also showing us the correct view of the world that is awaiting the birth of our Saviour, Jesus. We cannot be waiting for him with gloomy thoughts and sadness. No, we must rejoice and give thanks to God for sending us the Redeemer of the world.
Let us pray: Grant, Father, that when Christ comes again, we may go out to meet him, bearing the harvest of good works achieved by your grace. We pray that he will receive us into the company of the saints and call us into the kingdom of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 3: 10-18.
The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “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.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
The prophet Zephaniah, Saint Paul and John the Baptist all share one belief: that the Lord is very near. The nearness of God is not a source of threat or of fear for them; they see it as a source of great joy. That is why they call on us too to get ready to receive our Lord and share in the joy the Lord brings to whoever is ready to receive him.
In the Gospel, John the Baptist appears as a magnetic personality whose direct manner of speaking attracts large crowds. He does not use sophisticated language. He speaks a language that is clear and understood by all. His language carries a message of hope in the salvation the Lord will bring; it’s a message that goes directly into and challenges the heart of whoever hears him.
Groups of people come to see John among whom are the Jewish leaders – the Scribes and the Pharisees -- and the poor, ordinary folks. His preaching touches all of them to the depth of their hearts and they all ask: “What must we do to be saved?” John’s answer challenges their generosity and sense of fairness as he asks them to give bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked. To the tax collectors, he cautions them against over-taxing the people; to the soldiers, who accompany tax collectors when they are collecting taxes and who, at the time of Jesus, as it is still largely the case today, used their position of force to brutalize the tax payer, he urges them to stop stealing from the poor and to be happy with their regular monthly pay.
John does not condemn the paying of taxes; he does not ask tax collectors to give up their jobs; instead he asks them to be honest, not to collect taxes above the legal limits so that they too can feel the joy of a job well done. John does not condemn the military profession; he only denounces the excesses some soldiers show towards the poor civilians, which is still current practice among us today. He advises the soldiers to find joy and happiness in their profession by refraining from extorting money from the poor through brute force.
Is John only speaking to the Jewish authorities and the Jews of his day? No, he is also speaking to each of us today. He is telling us that we too will only find happiness and receive our Lord in joy, if during the Advent season we are charitable towards the weak, the orphan, the widow and other marginalized persons in our society. He is telling members of our armed forces not to brutalize our people, not to rape our women, not torch the homes of the poor as is currently the case in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon.
If we happen to work in taxation, at the Customs or wherever we may be tempted to take a bribe or extort money from the poor before rendering them a service, the Advent season challenges us to correct our ways so the Lord will find a clean highway he can walk on into our hearts.
Wherever we may be working, or whatever we may be doing for a living, there is always something we can do to improve in order to serve others well. There is always something in our lives that makes it necessary for us to invite Jesus in so he can heal and forgive us our trespasses. This season of Advent gives us a unique opportunity to trace our road to holiness. It is the time for us to ask with the people who go to see John the Baptist: “what can I do to be a better Christian? Or a better spouse? Or a better son? Or a better daughter? Or a better medical doctor? Or a better priest? Or a better soldier?”
The answer to these questions comes loud and clear to us when we let Christ and the Holy Spirit come into our lives after a good confession. Let us pray: “Almighty and merciful Father, let neither our daily work nor the cares of this life prevent us from hastening to meet your Son. Enlighten us with your wisdom, and lead us into his company. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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