III SUNDAY OF ADVENT
REJOICE ALWAYS
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
In this third Sunday of Advent the somber atmosphere which is appropriate for the preparation for Christmas is interrupted by the announcement of joy. A joy that gives certain hope in the one who left heaven to become like us in every way but sin. If we had to name in some way this Sunday, I would say it is the Sunday of jubilation.
“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me.” (Is 61:1a) The prophet is clear about his mission to proclaim: the good news, forgiveness and freedom, to cure, to announce the year of favor. This text is one of the best known texts, because the gospel writer Saint Luke has wisely applied it to what Jesus read in the synagogue of Nazareth (compare Lk 4:16) In our reading, as with the passage from St. Luke read in the synagogue of Nazareth, God’s vengeance is set aside and he announces only a time of favor.
All of the promises that are announced since the beginning of time are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, for that reason our futures and our lives are in God’s hands. There is no room for vengeance or calamities. The gospel reading today describes Jesus to us, the one who is to come. If the gospel, if Advent in this case, is not good news for the poor, the blind, those who suffer, then it is not a truly Christian Advent.
The second reading this Sunday insists on joy as the predominant motive for today’s liturgy. In v. 16 “semper guadate” (rejoice always) has given this third Sunday of Advent its name. Christmas is almost here and joy, the thrust of Advent, has always been the profile to identify this Sunday. Last Tuesday (December 12th) we celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the decorators made everything so beautiful that I decided to leave all of the decorations there through Sunday to manifest our joy. Joy because we are certain in the love of God. Joy because the greatest one left everything in search of our poverty. Paul manifests the fundamental attitudes of a Christian: rejoicing always, in thanksgiving to God and not quenching the Spirit in order to discern between right and wrong: “May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Tes 5:23)
The gospel today is John the Baptist’s confession about Jesus. John the Baptist was not the light, as some of his disciples hoped and as we hear in the controversy in this text. John the Baptist came as a precursor, as a friend of the groom. “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” (Jn 1:23) The second part of this reading gives us the history of the Precursor who had to clear up that he was not the one that was to come, to save, to shed light, to give life. He was the voice that cried out in the desert.
Saint Paul exhorts the community of Thessalonica. “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.” (1 Tes 5:19-20) That community had to go through many trials and be persecuted for their acceptance of the gospel. In our times, the persecution is different, but let us remember that there is no gospel or good news if it is not announced prophetically. Including in adversity we have to experience that God is on the side of humanity. For that we need the Spirit as cause for joy, not to quench it. May God grant us the gift of being witnesses of love, forgiveness, freedom and good news.