The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, December 13, 2020, as the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical year B. It is also called the Gaudate Sunday. This name is taken from the entrance antiphon of the Mass, which says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” These are the words of Saint Paul in which he urges the first Christians of Philippi to rejoice in the Lord always and he gives the reason for this joy, which is that the Lord is at hand. Our Lord always brings us joy and not affliction.
Advent is the season of preparation for the arrival of the Lord Jesus (both his first coming and his second coming), and by the third Sunday of Advent, we are most of the way through the season. Thus it is appropriate to rejoice as we see the goal of the season approaching: The Lord is indeed near.
In the Advent period, the Church proposes the figure of John the Baptist for our meditation. The Gospel of Saint John of this Sunday is devoted to the mission of John the Baptist, as he prepares us to welcome our Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the first reading, the greatest of all prophets, Isaiah, tells us that he has been sent to preach good tidings to the poor and to free prisoners from captivity. In the second reading, Saint Paul tells his converts of Thessalonika that they should love one another, live a life of joy, prayer and thanksgiving as they await the second coming of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the course of this Eucharist, we pray for the grace of repentance and forgiveness so that when our Lord returns, he will find us worthy to receive him in our hearts, minds and souls.
First Reading: Isaiah 61: 1-2. 10-11.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
This passage is taken from the final part of Isaiah, also known as the Third Isaiah, which is from the period immediately following Israel’s return from exile in Babylon. The task of restoration is slow and difficult, and the majority of the people live in poverty and are being exploited by unscrupulous rich people. Because of these conditions, the people’s faith is weakened. The prophet is trying to revive their hope in the future and is also eager to introduce a purer and more spiritual form of religion among them based on internal conversion.
He tells them that the Spirit of God rests upon those whom God destines to become instruments of his salvation. It’s this Spirit that has inspired the prophet to bring consolation and hope to those returning from exile. In the mouth of the prophet, Jerusalem rejoices in the gifts of salvation that clothe her and spring up from her to fill the entire earth. For Jerusalem, salvation has come, the days of darkness are over, the rebuilding has begun and her glory now shines out. The return of the exile is a moment of joy for Israel. They have good reasons to rejoice because, as Saint Paul says, the Lord is at hand.
The prophet is set to preach the good tidings to the poor and the broken-hearted. His message and action are signs of God’s concern for those whom society rejects. Those returning from exile are poor and completely dependent on God.
At the start of his public ministry, Jesus reads the consoling words of this prophet in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth and comments: “This text is being fulfilled today, even while you are listening” (Lk 4: 18-21). He assures his listeners that the long awaited new world is just beginning with him, a world where there will be no place for slavery, hunger, disease and, above all, selfishness, hate and sin.
This beautiful passage from Isaiah teaches us that even though there are many things that make us sad, we can begin to sing a song of joy for salvation will surely reach out to everyone. The Messiah will soon be with us and we will share in the beautiful message of the Angel to the shepherds: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people; for to you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2: 10-11). Christ comes with good news to those of us who are afflicted. He comes, proclaiming liberty to captives and happiness to all. He puts these beautiful words in the mouth of the Beloved Apostle John: “Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16:22). That joy was already announced by the prophet Isaiah centuries before Christ in the reading of this day.
Let us get closer to Christmas by sharing the joy we receive from our Lord with those around us, especially in our families. We make our supplication through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: 1 Thes 5: 16-24.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
“May you all be safe, spirit, soul and body, for the coming of the Lord.” With these words, Saint Paul expresses his final greetings at the end of his First Letter to the Thessalonians. He has just been asked: What about Christians who have already died before the Lord came. He replies that they will be at no disadvantage at all. Paul himself expects to be alive when the Lord returns. Yet, he insists on the need to be awake and on the watch, for the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
What does this passage have for us as a lesson? It tells us that a Christian life should be one of joy, prayer and thanksgiving to God. Most important, Christians must respect the extraordinary gifts that accompany the outpouring of the Spirit of Christ upon the faithful. Obviously, they must check that these gifts are good for the community. God is going to be faithful to his promises. He will keep intact and bring to completion the salvation of the body.
Saint Paul urges the Thessalonians, and those of us sharing in this meditation, to respect and obey our Church leaders and to maintain peace in the community. The faults of individual members should be corrected but always in a spirit of love and support, in a spirit of fraternal correction.
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith so we can stay awake, to love one another as we prepare a path in our lives for the Second Coming of Emmanuel – God with us. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. Alleluia.
Gospel: John 1: 6-8. 19-28.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
Today, we read from the Gospel of John, commonly called the Fourth Gospel, the first three being the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). These three gospels are very similar in context and that is why they are called synoptic. Saint John was an eye-witness of the ministry of Jesus. He is usually called the beloved apostle, he to whom Jesus, on the Cross, entrusts his mother. “Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:27).
The opening words of John’s gospel present Jesus as the revelation of God the Father, the Incarnate Word made Flesh, the Father’s truth, power and love. In the passage for this day’s meditation, John the Baptist makes his appearance at the precise point in history to bear witness before man to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. All the Old Testament was the preparation for the coming of Christ. Thus, the patriarchs and the prophets announced in different ways, the salvation the Messiah would bring. But John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of woman (Mt 11:11), was actually able to point out the Messiah himself; his testimony marked the culmination of all the previous prophecies.
The other prophets announced the Messiah without ever seeing him; John announces him and sees him and even baptizes him. So important is John the Baptist’s mission to bear witness to Jesus Christ that the synoptic gospels start their account of Christ’s public ministry with John’s testimony.
Saint John, author of this day’s gospel passage, started off as a disciple of John the Baptist before following Jesus when the Baptist pointed out Jesus, to John’s hearing, as the Messiah.
For his part, the Baptist is the immediate precursor of the Messiah, whose sandals he is unworthy to untie. He stresses his role as witness to Christ and his mission as preparer of the way for the Messiah. He comes when the world is in darkness and he comes as a witness to speak for the light, but he does not claim to be the light in person. He has the arduous task of laying low the mountains and hills and shaping a path through the wasteland. He invites people of every age and in every generation to have faith in Jesus, the true light. When he faces opposition, he points away from himself to his work in preparing for the one to come.
The Baptist exhorts people, us included, to repent from their sins and make straight a path through their lives for the coming of the Messiah. The Baptist practices the austerity he preaches; he points out Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and he proclaims him boldly, in the face of the Jewish authorities.
In the setting of intense expectation of the imminent coming of the Messiah, the Baptist is a personality with enormous prestige, as is shown by the fact that the Jewish authorities send qualified people (priests and Levites from Jerusalem) to ask him if he is the Messiah. In his great humility, John responds: “I am not the Christ”. He sees himself as someone insignificant compared to our Lord. “I am not worthy to untie the laces of his sandals,” he tells them.
Just as the Jewish authorities wonder if they are in the presence of the Messiah, we too may be doubting how to recognise the Messiah. The Messiah himself has told us that wherever and whenever two or three of us gather in his name, there he is in our midst. Let us therefore make praying with others, especially our family members, and in our Small Christian Communities a point of duty as it is in such prayer sessions that we can recognize our Messiah.
We can also recognize our Messiah in the least of our brothers and sisters, in the unfortunate ones among us, whom we help as we walk along the street. There are many of such people along the streets of Douala, who need our help to be able to eat or clothe themselves. As we help them through our charity, we will be helping our Lord and Messiah. Pope Francis has declared the 33rd Sunday of each year as the day dedicated to the poor living among us and at the peripheries of our lives. He urges us to stretch out our hand to the poor as we intensify our generosity to the poor. Praying for them is good but prayers alone are not enough. “Prayer to God and solidarity with the poor and suffering are inseparable. In order to perform an act of worship acceptable to the Lord, we have to recognize that each person, even the poorest and most contemptible, is made in the image of God. From this awareness comes the gift of God’s blessing, drawn by the generosity we show to the poor.”
Let us pray and extend a concrete hand of help to them by clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the thirsty, visiting the sick in hospitals and the prisoner in his prison cell. If we do, we shall be pleasantly surprised to hear our Lord say to us, ‘since you did this to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me as well.’ Through Jesus Christ, the Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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