December 16^th. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT – GAUDETE SUNDAY
Gospel: Luke 3:10-18
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
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John the Baptist announces a Good News that is disconcerting. The one who is to come is going to separate the wheat from the chaff and burn the chaff in an everlasting fire. But this is exactly the news that we need! If we are to fully experience the joy that is being celebrated on this Gaudete Sunday then the redundant and decadent things within us must be cleared away by Jesus. How is this to happen? How do we receive Jesus into our lives? We must start from humble beginnings. John the Baptist gives us practical advice on how to get ready to receive the Lord

What sort of “Good News” does humanity truly need?

What does the term “Good News” mean? Sometimes news can be consoling or comforting, but that is not to say that it is news that has saving power or that can help me to grow. Some “good” news is like a sedative that helps us feel better for the time being, but the human being has desperate need of the sort of good news that can resolve our existential problems comprehensively and permanently. News of this sort is what brings real joy to humanity. This Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday, a day for rejoicing at the Good News of the Lord’s immanent coming. There are many false joys in the world associated with false “Good News”. We are being told constantly that whatever we feel like doing is acceptable, that the commodities and comforts of the present life are all we need, that everything will be alright if we align ourselves with the drift of contemporary culture. The news that life is simple and requires no serious commitment or self-application is false good news.

The Good News announced by John the Baptist is of the unexpected sort

John the Baptist announces the news of the coming of the one who will “clear the threshing floor” and who will “burn the chaff in a fire that will never go out”. We may be shocked by this announcement and ask ourselves how we are to be comforted by “Good News” of this sort. But the news that John brings is exactly what we need. There is much chaff in our lives, many areas of our existence that do not have life. The parts of ourselves that really count are buried and wrapped up in a superficial outer shell, and we make the superficial outer shell the focal point of our lives. John mentions the winnowing fan, an instrument that was used for lifting the grains of wheat into the air, so that the chaff would be carried away by the wind and the kernel of the grain would fall back on the floor. Jesus is the one who is capable of clearing away these redundant and decadent things from our lives and restoring us to life in the fullest and most essential sense of the term.

The real meaning of the expression “undo the sandal strap”

John says that he is unworthy to undo the strap of Jesus’ sandals. What does this expression mean? When we meet someone greater than ourselves, it wouldn’t occur to us to say “I am unworthy to untie his shoes”. But when John makes this statement, there is a whole cultural context behind the expression that would have made sense to any Jew at the time. In Jewish society there were clear conventions regarding who had the right to marry a particular woman in a given situation. For example, if a woman was widowed, there were rules stipulating which man was first in line to marry the woman if she wished to remarry. Sometimes it happened that a woman ended up marrying a man who was not first in line to marry her. Before this could take place, however, the new husband would have to publicly undo the strap of the sandals of the man who was first in line, and place his foot in the sandal. By undoing the strap and placing his foot in the sandal, the new husband was ritually taking the place of the man who was first in line. The man who was first in line, by allowing his sandal to be undone, was publicly relinquishing his right to marry the woman.

                When John the Baptist says that he is unworthy to undo the strap of Jesus’ sandal, he is not simply trying to find a way of saying that he inferior to Jesus. He is explicitly invoking this ritual, and by doing so he is stating that Jesus, and not himself, is the true spouse that is coming. John cannot undo the strap and take the place of the true spouse. This is the Good News! Jesus is that spouse and he has no intention of relinquishing his right upon us! He intends to clean the chaff away from within us and restore us to our true selves. He wishes to make us live according to a truth that is unimaginably beautiful. As our spouse he gives himself for us completely. We do not simply listen to him and learn from him; we become completely united to him.

John gives us practical advice on how we are to begin living this encounter with the Christ who is coming into our lives

When two people decide to get married, their story does not begin on their wedding day, but much earlier. Before they ever get married, they decide where they are going to live, how they are going to make ends meet. Every genuine relationship begins with small humble beginnings, whether it is a marriage, the living out of a vocation, or the encounter with Jesus Christ. This Sunday, John the Baptist indicates the ways in which we can make the humble beginnings of a real encounter with Christ, and he concentrates on what is practical. Before being given the grace to burn the chaff away from our lives and become united with Christ, we must do less dramatic things that are within our power to do. If we have two tunics, then we can share with the man who has none. We can begin to practice honesty and integrity in all of our dealings with others. To practice the cardinal virtue of justice, we must begin with things that can be done practically, not speak abstractly about great deeds that are outside of our capabilities. Similarly, in the spiritual life it is possible to eventually achieve a state of ecstasy where one feels the presence of the Lord very near. But it is not possible for a person who is new to the spiritual life to attain a state of ecstasy immediately. First of all, one might begin by praying for five minutes every morning; then for ten minutes, and then for half an hour. And then one begins to pray regularly at the most significant moments of the day. Eventually one begins to become more intimate with the word of God, to have a spiritual director, and maybe to join a movement within the church. One begins modestly and then progresses in stages. The Lord cannot come in the door unless there is a door! If I don’t take time to pray, then how can the Lord speak to me? If I don’t listen to the Word of God, then how am I to discover that the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of the Scriptures? To be able to receive the Good News about the coming of our spouse, we must embark on a journey of what is possible, not impossible. The Christian faith is not an abstraction; it begins from what can be done practically. Instead of speaking abstractly about the church, about high moral principles, maybe it would be better if we focussed on doing what we are able to do in the present moment. When we start to act in the practical ways laid down by John the Baptist, we begin to concretely understand the nature of salvation better, and begin to taste its flavour at first hand.