3rd Sunday of Advent

Gospel Reflection

Matthew 11:2-11

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near” (Phil. 4:4). These words of St. Paul are the entrance antiphon for this third Sunday of Advent. The imperative “rejoice” in Latin is gaudete; hence, it is traditionally called “Gaudete Sunday.” As at a similar point in Lent, the sobriety of Advent is tempered to allow for the emotions of excitement, expectation and joy. The violet colored vestments worn by the priest can be replaced with rose coloured ones in anticipation of a great celebration of Our Lord’s  nativity – the Lord is near (Dominus prope est!).

The rich and poetic inspirations of Isaiah look forward to a great saving act of God. “Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom” (Isaiah 35: 1). This imagery suits our own nation’s experiences well. Then the prophet goes on to tell his followers that not only “shall they see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God” but he heartens them saying: “Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming…He is coming to save you.” Some of us will recall that another prophetic voice of our own time – that of John Paul II – similarly encouraged us at the beginning of his pontificate, saying “Do not be afraid.” Not long afterwards he published his first encyclical letter dedicated to Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of man (Redemptor hominis). Jesus is God who is coming, who has come. With Him come the answers to the deepest longings of the human heart. With Him come the remedies of all human misfortunes, especially that of falling into sin and being alienated from God, from others and even from ourselves.

A believing Christian should be a person who communicates joy, supernatural optimism, and even cheerfulness and good-humour to others. However, that doesn’t mean that they themselves always feel “on top of the world.” Like anyone, a good Christian experiences tiredness, disappointments, the weight of their own personal failings, and sorrows of one kind or another. Physical sickness can bring on feelings of depression , anxiety or impatience. In spite of this, for a person of conviction there remains the sure reference point of God’s love and mercy. There is the knowledge of the compassion of Christ, who literally shared in our human limitations and sufferings, like us in all things but sin. “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me” (Matth. 11:6). St. James writes, “You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon” (James 5:8). In due time Christ provides the remedy for our needs. Though we may not feel it, we know that we are, in fact, on top of the world. “Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5). And Pope Leo the Great (5th century) gives us this Christmas message—
“….the day our Saviour was born: what a joy for us, my beloved! ….no season for sadness, [His] is the birthday of Life—the Life which annihilates the fear of death, and gives rise to joy, promising immortality” (Sermon 1 on the nativity).

We should ask God always to help us enter into and remain this deeper and supernatural way of seeing our own lives as sons and daughters of God. As St. Josemaria wrote: “The cheerfulness you should have is not the kind we might call physiological good spirits — the happiness of a healthy animal. You must seek something more: the supernatural happiness that comes from the abandonment of everything and the abandonment of yourself into the loving arms of our Father-God” ( The Way 659). St. Philip Neri, who lived in Rome during the troubled times of the so-called Reformation, was notorious for his affability and good humour. At times these even including gentle antics during his sermons that would make people chuckle with delight. These humorous twists are often also found in his writings on the spiritual life. He himself observed: “A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.”