Homily: 3rd Sunday in Advent – Cycle C
Friends,
today our scriptures remind us—nay, command us—to rejoice. In fact, the whole liturgy takes part in this
by calling this third Sunday in Advent, Guadete
Sunday, using the Latin imperative form of the word “rejoice” to color our
whole celebration. To mark this, the
liturgy literally takes on a different color.
A rose-colored candle and rose-colored vestments take the place of
violet-colored ones in order to alert us to the unique message that this third
Sunday is meant to convey.
If
the Church is commanding us to “rejoice” this Sunday, then for what reason are
we to rejoice? The scriptures give us
the answer: “The Lord… is in your midst” “The Lord is near.” The reason that we are commanded to rejoice
this weekend is because God has revealed to us that he is with us and, thus,
that we are not alone. Let’s reflect on
that last point for a moment: that we are not alone.
Perhaps
one of the greatest fears of anyone is to find him or herself completely alone
in life. We are social creatures—that
is, creatures designed to be in relationship with one another—and so to be
isolated from all others, either physically or even just emotionally, is
something that we fear because we recognize that relationship (companionship,
accompaniment) with others is something essential to our lives.
It
is also because we recognize our limitations.
When we are united with others, we often find that, where one person is
limited, another person is strong. Thus,
we are stronger together. All of you
here who are married would probably say that one of the reasons that you chose
to unite yourself to your spouse is because he/she is strong where you may be
limited and, thus, that together you are more complete. What this recognition also demonstrates for
us is that, when we are by ourselves—that is, when we are alone—we are more
vulnerable than when we are with others.
Therefore, when we recognize that we are not alone, we are more
confident, hopeful, and joyful: because, in that recognition, we acknowledge
that we are no longer vulnerable, but rather safe and secure.
In
this way, God, through the prophet Zephaniah, could command the ancient
Israelites to “rejoice”. Throughout their
years of exile, the ancient Israelites felt that God had abandoned them: that
they were, in fact, alone. God sent
Zephaniah to announce to them that their time of isolation and vulnerability
had ended: that he would no longer leave them alone, but rather would be with
them once again. This “gospel”—that is,
this “good news”—that the all-powerful God was once again with them was cause
for them to rejoice.
Paul,
writing to the early Christian community in Philippi, needed to remind them,
who were perhaps facing persecution and the anxieties that come along with it,
that they were not left alone to face these persecutions, but rather that the
Lord was always near to them. And so,
instead of lamenting what was happening to them, they should rejoice and turn
to God with confidence: trusting that he is with them and that he will
strengthen them through every trial.
It
is for this same reason that the Church gives us these scriptures this weekend
and so calls us to rejoice. She knows
that our lives are filled with anxieties and worries. She knows how difficult it is for us, who are
Christian, to be intentional disciples of Jesus in a world where the evil one
“prowls about like a lion, looking for someone to devour”. She knows that we know that, left to
ourselves, we would be devoured completely by the evil one, and that sometimes
we feel like we have been left alone.
Thus, today and throughout this season, she calls us to “wake up”—that
is, to “open our eyes”—and to recognize the truth that we are not alone, but
rather that the Lord is near: that he, indeed, is with us and so we must
rejoice.
Friends,
the greatest mistake that we can make in this life is relying too much on
ourselves. Doing so is a recipe for
despair. Rather, I have found that my
greatest power to persevere through any trial is the trust that I have that God
is with me and that he can make up for my weaknesses. Thus, I can rejoice even in the face of
desperate situations (like, perhaps, the unexpected death of Fr. Roberts/Fr.
Paternoster). Rejoice not in the tragic
thing that happened, of course, but rather in the knowledge that God is greater
than these seemingly desperate moments and that, if we turn to him in them, we
will find power to overcome our sorrow and despair.
The
Blessed Virgin Mary, when she appeared to Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac and
imprinted her miraculous image on his tilma, came to proclaim this powerful
truth to the native peoples of the Americas: “Rejoice! The Lord… is in your midst. The Lord is near.” In her love for these lands and for the
people who would live in them, she promised to remain ever close to us to
ensure that her Son would never be far from us.
When we celebrate her on the anniversary of her appearance, we rejoice
that this most beautiful mother has accepted us as her children and we are
inspired once again to live as worthy sons and daughters of so noble a
mother. Our celebration also calls us to
live by her example of hopeful trust in God: that, in every trial, we can
rejoice because God is with us.
Friends,
as we “turn the corner” in this Advent season—turning from our anticipation of
the Lord’s second coming towards a greater focus on our celebration of his
first coming—we must rejoice that the all-powerful God is with us, always ready
to help us in our need. Hopefully, we’ve
already used this time to examine ourselves in order to find the ways in which
we have turned from God and, thus, have distanced ourselves from him, so that,
through repentance, we can experience God’s closeness again. Now, as we celebrate the great tenderness and
closeness of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, we can in turn share that
with others by showing great tenderness and closeness to those in need around
us. When we do this, as John the Baptist
instructed his disciples to do in the Gospel reading today, we demonstrate to
others God’s closeness to them, thus giving them cause to rejoice with us.
What
is, perhaps, even greater news than the fact that God is near to us is that he
himself rejoices to be near to us. Friends,
as we encounter him once again here at this altar, let us open our hearts to
receive in joy the one who rejoices to be received by us.
Given at St. Joseph Parish: Delphi, IN – December 12th,
2021
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