Homily 3rd Sunday of Advent year B

 

My dear friends, we celebrate today the Third Sunday of Advent, in Year B. During the season of Advent, over four weeks, we prepare our hearts for Christmas in penitential reflection. But in the middle of the season, Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice in hope! Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. The readings for this Sunday encourage us to rejoice because our salvation is near.

Similar to the First Sunday of Advent, the first reading today comes from the section of Isaiah which is set in the context of the disappointed hopes of the earliest returnees from the Babylonian Exile. The first question that arises as we listen to the text is about the identity of the speaker. Who is saying, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me”? Who has the Lord anointed? In the previous chapters of Isaiah, the suffering servant, the messianic figure features prominently and the texts taken together suggest that it is this Suffering servant who is speaking these words. Come to the New Testament and we have Jesus repeating these same words in the gospel of Luke (4:16-30) in what is known as the Nazareth manifesto. A manifesto refers to the policy, mission and aims of a political party or candidate. This passage from Isaiah gives us the mission of the suffering servant – Jesus.  

The focus is on liberating those who are under bondage and oppression and bringing hope. The suffering servant is called to bring good news to the oppressed. Not only those who are suffering from the reality of physical oppression but also those who are suffering from spiritual bondage to sin. The liberating activities for the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the captives, and the prisoners would recreate the Year of Jubilee wherein every fiftieth year was dedicated to rest, the restoration of property, and freeing people from debts, servitude, and slavery. The Messiah will give the grieving person a reason to hope once again. Israel’s loveliness and the miracle of her emerging righteousness and praise will bear witness to the nations of Yahweh’s faithfulness.

This manifesto is not only of Jesus but it should be the manifesto of each one of us. The challenge before us is to see if our actions are liberating or do they cause bondage. Do we by our thoughts, words and deeds free people from their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bondages or do we put them down and suppress and try to control them? Advent is the perfect time to see if our actions are ushering in the Year of Jubilee.

The second reading taken from St. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, is among the closing verses of this letter and St. Paul gives us a 4-point formula for living life. In line with the theme of Gaudete Sunday, the first point asks us to Rejoice always. Rejoicing is not to be done only when things are going our way but even when the going gets tough. In his own life, going through various challenges, Paul demonstrated that it is, indeed, possible to rejoice amid adversity. The second point is to pray without ceasing. More than a mere tool to obtain what one desires, prayer establishes and strengthens one’s relationship with God. The closer we are to God the better we can discern His will for us. The last point is perhaps the most difficult. Paul asks us to give thanks in all circumstances. To be able to do this demands a very strong faith and trust in God’s plan and love for us.

In the gospel reading the focus this week continues to remain on the person of John the Baptist. In contrast to the gospel of Mark where John is the forerunner of the Messiah, the primary role of John the Baptist in the gospel of John is that of a witness to Jesus. One of the purposes of the Gospel of John is to make it clear what John the Baptist is not. He is not the light—not the Messiah—not Elijah—not the prophet—not worthy to untie the strap of the Messiah’s sandal. In the gospel of John, we see a gradual recognition of who Jesus is. God has chosen John and commissioned his role as a witness to Jesus. John bears witness to Jesus- the light that has come into a dark world.  

The world we live in today is very dark indeed. We take a candle into a room to dispel the darkness. Likewise, the Light of Jesus Christ has to be taken into the darkness of sin that surrounds the world today. But to do that, we must first have His light in our lives. Today would be a good time to ask ourselves, do I carry the Light of Jesus or the darkness of sin? The second important aspect is that this light has to be reflected onto others. Just as the moon has no light of its own, rather, it reflects the light of the sun, so are we called to reflect the Light of Christ so that all can see Jesus in us. The third important aspect is recognizing the light in others.

During one of the courses back in the seminary, I remember, Fr. Philip Terrasa held up a white paper on which there was a small black dot, and he asked us what do you see? And all of us raised up our hands and said, “There is a black dot on the paper”. And he smiled gently and said, “My dear brothers, can you focus on the big white paper instead?” We spend a lot of time criticizing others for their shortcomings and failures, as part of our preparations for advent, can we instead focus on the goodness that they carry, the light of Jesus that each one of us has within us? In the gospel narrative, the main hero is clearly Jesus, and John would surely receive the award for the best supporting actor. The beautiful thing about John is that he never forgot that his mission was to point to Christ. We are challenged this advent season to emulate the focus, faithfulness and courage of John the Baptist.

As we come closer to Christmas, let us spend some time this Gaudete Sunday and reflect over what is the manifesto of our lives. How can I follow the 4-point formula of St. Paul and lastly focus on carrying, reflecting and recognizing the light of Jesus in our daily lives. May God bless us all.