Rejoice! He is Near!

3rd Sunday of Advent
Dec. 16, 2012
(Lk 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.

As St. John the Baptist continues his preaching, the people were filled with expectation, so our Gospel tells us. Indeed, the same feeling is ours now that we are nearing the Solemnity of the Lord’s Birth. The Church invites us today to rejoice as we celebrate Gaudete Sunday (“Rejoice” Sunday) in the midst of our Advent journey.

 

To rejoice is truly a Christian thing to do. St. Paul, in the Second Reading (Phil 4:4-7) urges the Philippians to rejoice always in the Lord and to show their kindness to all.

St. John the Baptist, on the other hand, in preparing the expectant people for Jesus’ public ministry, exhorts them to practice charity, to show love and concern for their neighbors and to always do what is just in their dealings with other people. St. John’s message applies to us today. As we wait for the Lord’s second coming and anticipate the joy of the Christmas celebration, we are reminded to take another look at how we relate to other people. In our love for our neighbor, we show our love for God and our deep longing for Him.

Our joy, of course, does not come exclusively from a life lived in love and justice, lest we fall into the error of believing that our joy comes only from what we do, from our own merit. After instructing the people, John the Baptist speaks about someone who will come after him – Jesus. It is Jesus who comes to us that give us true joy. “The Lord is near,” says St. Paul; that is why we are joyful! Being righteous is not the cause of our joy. We are joyful, rather, because of Jesus, Righteousness Himself, in whose example we follow.

In our Advent journey, we are again filled with joy because the Lord is indeed coming! May we find that true joy that comes only from Christ and not from Christmas decorations. Also, like John the Bapist, may we continue to point to Jesus, telling everyone that He brings salvation and joy to all. Thus shall peace, justice and love be our treasures not only for the coming Christmas season, but for the rest of our lives!

Testifying to the Light that Gives Joy

3rd Sunday of Advent Dec. 11, 2011 (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28)

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ."

So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day of rejoicing. In the midst of the semi-penitential Season of Advent, the liturgy invites us today to rejoice. While we feel sorrow for our sins as we anticipate the Lord’s coming, we also feel joy because the preparation we are doing, if indeed we are preparing properly, will allow us to encounter the Lord more intimately. As St. Paul exhorts us in today’s Second Reading (1 Thes 5:16-24), we must rejoice even as we strive to avoid evil and to live in holiness.

Our Gospel for today tells us of John the Baptist’s testimony. At a time when people rarely heard God’s revelations through prophets, John the Baptist raised expectations when he testified to the light – Jesus, whose coming shall cause great rejoicing. Jesus is the Messiah who was sent “to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God (see First Reading, Is 61:1-2,10-11).”

To those who asked him, John admitted that he was not the Christ. But he foretold the coming of one greater than him. John did not claim to be the light but pointed to the true light – to Jesus, the Messiah the Jews have been waiting for.

Today, as we worry about the many things we think can make our Christmas a happy one, we remember John the Baptist pointing to Christ, reminding us that He is our true joy. All our Christmas decorations and festivities are only means of expressing our joy; they are not the cause of our joy. Our joy comes from a heart-to-heart encounter with Jesus, an encounter that can only be as intense as our hearts are pure from sin.

Christmas lights may shine bright, but they can never outshine Jesus who comes shining anew in our hearts. So let us keep our gaze towards Christ, the light that gives true Christmas joy. So let us rejoice today, awaiting Jesus’ coming and preparing a heart free from sin for Him.

What Did You Go Out to See?

3rd Sunday of Advent Dec. 12, 2010 (Mt 11:2-11)

When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'

Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Today, we hear Jesus asking the people, "What did you go out to the desert to see?" As the celebration of the Lord's birth is nearing, we celebrate today the Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of Joy. And today, Jesus, through the Gospel, invites us to reflect on what we go out to see.

Simbang Gabi is coming. What do we go out to see, especially at such an early hour? Do we go out to see the church all decorated for the season? Do we go out to see if there are any puto bumbong or bibingka sold near the church? Or maybe we go out to see our special someone and to chat with him or her near or even inside the church? Do we not go out to see Jesus and to receive Him in the Eucharist?

Christmas parties are happening everywhere. Do we see people start these parties by praying? Having a Christmas party without prayer is like holding a birthday party without inviting the celebrant.

Everytime we celebrate Christmas, we see a lot of things. We see decorations, attend parties, and watch commercials that try their best to get the audience' attention using Christmas as a theme. But are these things really what we go out to see? Do we really know it's Christmas because of ham or fruit salad? Shouldn't Jesus be the cause of our joy this Christmas? After all, you can spell Christmas without ham or fruit salad, but you just can't spell it without Christ.

Gaudete Sunday invites us to rejoice in the coming of our Savior. This joy is often preceded or accompanied by sorrow. But at the end of every sorrow, there is always joy. When we do not refuse challenges but face them courageously, in the end joy is our reward. In the same way, when we take the Advent journey of repentance and preparation, our joy will be complete on Christmas day, not because of anything or anyone else, but because of Jesus.

If only we see the joy that Jesus brings, the healing that He brings about in our lives, we would not mind carrying all the sorrow in the world, so long as Jesus will be our reward in the end. Jesus' light can outshine even the brightest Christmas light or parol.

This coming Christmas, may we all go out to see Jesus.

Echoing the Joyful News

3rd Sunday of Advent Dec. 13, 2009 (Lk 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.

John the Baptist instructed the people on how they should live their lives. His message was simple - being faithful to one's duties and treating one's neighbors well, being just, to put it simply. But despite the simplicity of this message, apparently there was a great need to preach it. People were forgetting to live good lives that the basic moral teaching of doing good and avoiding evil had to be reiterated. John's preaching made the people realize the coming of something new, a radical change of the corrupt spiritual situation in which they have found themselves. The Messiah is coming!

John confirmed this news, that, indeed, the Messiah was about to come. But He was not the Messiah. He was only a herald. John was only sharing the joyful news that the Lord is present among His people. But, aside from that, he was exhorting the people to be part of this good news, to be the good news to others by treating others well. By this, we make God present, not only among His people, but also through His people who live godly lives.

The readings for today invite us to rejoice because the Lord is near and He is coming to save us. We are further invited to emanate this joy, to show our neighbors, through our kindness and love, that God reigns and that God has come to save them too.

As Christmas draws near, the joy we feel also increases. May we not forget that our joy ought to come from the longing for Christ, not from the many distracting outer joys that festivities bring. Also, may we not forget to pass the joy and love that we have received from the Lord to those whose misfortune prevent them from rejoicing this season.

As we receive the good news of God's great love symbolized by the helpless baby on His crib, may we pass the joy and the love this news brings. May we be the good news to those who have not heard or who refuse to hear God's "I love you!"

Christmas Light: Rejoicing for the Right Reason

Third Sunday of Advent Dec. 14, 2008 (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28)

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?" he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Christ."

So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said." Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday, a Sunday of joy. The presiders at Mass may wear rose or pink vestments to symbolize joy. We also light today the pink candle of the Advent Wreath.

Advent is a semi-penitential season. Nevertheless, this season invites us to rejoice. We should rejoice always (1 Thes 5:16) even if circumstances call for grief. This is because even if it seems like everything in our life is hopeless, God still gives us reasons to be happy. And this happiness from God is greater than all grief.

In the Gospel, John the Baptist is again presented. He is said to be the one who "came to testify to the light" (Jn 1:8). His identity was questioned. But he never claimed to be anyone other than who he was, the herald of the light. He proclaimed the coming of the one greater than he was. This light to which John gave testimony is from God.

The greatest gift of God is the little baby whose birth we are going to celebrate soon, the light whose coming was heralded by John. God gave Him to us for us to be happy. This happiness is not just because a birth of a child is joyful, for Jesus is no ordinary child. The happiness that God gives to us through the little baby Jesus is eternal happiness. This will be accomplished in the redemptive act of Jesus.

Jesus is the greatest evidence of God's love for us and of God's desire for us to be happy. This gift of love from God is the ultimate cause of our joy this Christmas. We celebrate God the Son whose birth makes our salvation nigh. Jesus laid on the manger is the deep well from which Christmas joy springs. This is something we often forget.

Often, we get too amused with the luminous Christmas lights and decorations around us. They cause us joy as we feast our eyes on them. Amidst this great multitude of lights, John the Baptist points us to the true light, the one who gives us eternal joy. He reminds us that it's not about these electricity-powered lights. It is about the light of the nations who was given by God for our salvation.

This coming Christmas, let us be joyful. But let us remember to rejoice for the right reasons. Let Christ be the center of our celebration. After all, it is HIS birthday!