Homily — 3^rd Sunday in Advent, Year C

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

At every Mass, between the Our Father and the Doxology, the priest says a short prayer that goes like this: "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." It’s not a bad summary of all our prayer, is it? We ask the Lord to protect us from evil, to give us peace, to help us overcome sin and anxiety "as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." This "waiting in joyful hope" should characterize our whole life as Christians. "Waiting" means patience; "joy" means freedom from sin; and "hope" means freedom from anxiety. But patience, joy and hope is especially our theme this Third Sunday of Advent: "Gaudete Sunday," (the Sunday of rejoicing) as it is known from the first word of the traditional entrance antiphon, which is taken from today’s second reading: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete: modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus: Dominus prope est. Nihil solliciti sitis: sed in omni oratione petitiones vestrae innotescant apud Deum. "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." (Philippians 4:4-5).

These are the words of Saint Paul, and they contain our three-fold theme: "Rejoice in the Lord always" – Joy; "Let your kindness or forbearance be known to all" – Patience; "Have no anxiety at all" – Hope. It would seem that Holy Mother Church really wants to hammer this home, because Joy, Patience and Hope are found in our other readings as well. Zephaniah speaks of joy in the messianic kingdom: "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!" Why is there so much joy? Because once Christ establishes his eternal reign, defeating forever our old enemy the devil, sin will no longer reign in people’s hearts, and in its place there will be joy.

In the Gospel, Saint John the Baptist, whom we met last week for the first time, teaches the people the virtues of patience and hope as they come to him for advice. Our patience is demonstrated in the kindness we show to others, and so St. John encourages the people to share with each other, helping those who are in need, and treating everyone with justice. Saint Luke tells us that "the people were filled with expectation," they were filled with hope because they thought that John the Baptist might be the Christ. But he gives them an even more powerful reason for hope by announcing the coming of one who is even greater than he – one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and usher in a kingdom of justice and peace.

You see, even in his first coming Jesus began to fulfill the prophecies which were spoken of him so long ago. He will fulfill them completely when he returns again in glory at the end of time. But the fact that we see and experience some of the joy of the Messianic Kingdom even now should give us patience as we await the Lord’s second advent, and this patience should give us hope. Joy, patience and hope enabled John to die a martyr’s death. And, though we might not be chosen to shed our blood for the Faith; joy, patience and hope should enable us to live our Christian calling to a heroic degree.

But, just as these three virtues flow one from the other, so their opposite vices are interrelated as well. Sin robs the soul of joy, and where there is sin, there is impatience and a critical spirit toward others, as well as a selfishness which refuses to reach out to others. Impatience leads to anxiety, and anxiety ultimately ends in despair – an utter lack of all hope. This is why repentance remains a primary theme of our Advent journey, even during these last days of Advent when joy in the expectation of Christ’s birth takes center stage. This is why vestments of penitential purple are put aside for this one day and replaced with the joyful color of rose. But, as long as there is sin in our hearts, there will be no joy; and the only way to deal with sin is through repentance and humble acceptance of God’s forgiveness in Christ. And you have a wonderful opportunity to do just that this coming Tuesday at our parish penance service.

"Have no anxiety at all," Saint Paul tells us. How is this possible? "By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." When we turn to the Lord in prayer, begging his forgiveness, then will be realized in us this wonderful promise: "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." The Lord is coming! He longs to come to each of us in mercy to forgive our sins, he will come again in power and glory at the end of time to reign forever. May his peace reign in our hearts even now as we wait in joy, patience, and hope to greet the Lord when he comes.

© 2003, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor