3rd Sunday of Advent
(Gaudete Sunday)
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
Rejoice, exult with all your heart.
Dear friends in Christ Jesus, today we enter into another dimension of our joyful waiting in this Advent season. The mood of the day is of excitement, of rejoicing, of celebration. How coincidental it is to open the Door of Mercy in our own dioceses today, on this special Sunday! We, here in Central Australia, are privileged to open a designated Door of Mercy in our Parish of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. I’m sure this is a time of grace and a time to thank God and turn back to God to receive God’s abundant mercy.
The tone of the first reading of the day, from prophet Zephaniah, is of rejoicing and gladness. God has delivered Israel and has saved them from their enemies and has invited all to partake into the joy of the Lord. If God is for us, who is against us (Rom 8:31) says St Paul. So if God invites us to be joyful, if God invites us to rejoice, if God provides for us, then why should we be sad, why should we go mourning? We Catholics, quite many times, fail to appreciate joy in our heart, especially in our Eucharistic celebrations. Though we call it a ‘celebration,’ we hardly celebrate. We are even afraid to smile in the church, let alone applauding or showing any sign of rejoicing.
St Paul, in today’s second reading, is reiterating the thought from prophet Zephaniah by inviting his readers to be happy (translated as rejoice in some of the Bibles). We are called to be happy, because God will guard us, God will give us peace. We only need to pray and hold on to our faith, and God will look after us.
The Gospel has the story of John the Baptist, calling people to repent and be baptised and be received into the realm of God’s mercy. The tone of expectancy from the people is really marvellous. People are excited and are hopeful of the Lord’s coming that they mistake John as the Messiah. John realises this predicament and explains beautifully, to the people, of his role as the messenger of the good news of the Lord’s coming. He stresses the difference between him and the One who is coming.
As we are excited and eager to welcome our Lord in our midst, let us examine ourselves and take away all that is misleading us. Let us push away all that is stopping us from realising the true Messiah, and let us open our hearts and minds to receive our Lord in our life. The opening of the Door of Mercy is a fitting symbol of opening ourselves to the mercy of God. Let this door of mercy be a place for us to enter into God’s reign once again, let this be a door of hope for all those who feel left alone, let this be a door of mercy for all those, who feel are, treated badly by the Church, and our entry though this door of mercy bring hope for us and for all those who seek the reign of God and finally may this Gaudete Sunday bring joy and happiness in our lives. Amen.