December 13th 2020. Third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday

GOSPEL: John 1:6-8, 19-28

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: John 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 Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . This is Gaudete Sunday and we are invited to rejoice at the Lord’s immanent coming. The first reading speaks of the advent of a great liberator. In the Gospel, the figure of John the Baptist is presented to us. A central theme is the identity of John the Baptist. Why is so much attention devoted to discovering who he is? John’s own replies only reveal who he is not! It is very interesting that the person who is placed before us on Gaudete Sunday is someone who puts himself to the side, out of the limelight. This is the key to joy – to stop being slaves to ourselves, to our own identity, to our own role, our own importance! Freedom from our own ego is the real source of peace. In order for Christ to come into the world, it was necessary that someone would appear like John the Baptist who knew how to put himself into second place. What peace we obtain by not putting ourselves and our ego in the centre of everything! A good father seeks to no longer be necessary, to raise his child so well that they no longer need him. Similarly, a good priest knows how to step aside and delegate to others. A couple must be free of their own egos, giving each other reciprocal space so that Christ can live in that relationship. In everything I do, in my work or home situation, I can prepare the way for Christ. If I spend my days affirming myself, then my life is lived in vain. But my life is blessed if I am a route by which Christ can enter the lives of others. A good father or mother is someone who makes present to their children the love of God the Father, the tenderness and providence of God. If I remain fixated with own self-realisation then my life is mediocre. But if I can be a way in which Christ can enter into the lives of others, if I permit the voice of Another to speak through me, then my life will be full of love, discernment, welcome and space for others. This is what brings us to fulfilment: love, not the search for self-realisation.

John the Baptist stands at the Jordan, at the threshold to the Promised Land. He invites us to prepare ourselves for our entry into something wonderful, the arrival of the Lord

The third Sunday of Advent is always Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of Joy. As we have said on other occasions, the penitential time of Advent is always tempered by the invitation to rejoice in this Sunday’s liturgy. Lent is tempered in a similar by Laetare Sunday. The fundamental attitude of the church is not sadness but joy. Someone is coming and his arrival will be beautiful and marvellous. Let us try to understand the unity of the first reading and the Gospel by considering, firstly, the last line of the Gospel. Earlier in this passage from John’s Gospel, we hear of the appearance of a man sent by God whose name was John. This man came as a witness to the light. The end of the passage gives us information which seems to be secondary. “This took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” Here we have a fairly precise indication of the place where John was exercising his ministry, though the location was never identified until after the state of Israel came into being in 1947. After the political situation has stabilized, archaeologists discovered this settlement of Bethany across the Jordan. So it is a historical place, even though its existence was only documented by this mention in John’s Gospel. The location of this place across the Jordan is highly significant. John the Baptist is being presented as a type of Joshua. To cross the Jordan, for the people of Israel, meant to enter the Promised Land. It signified to enter into a new and beautiful state of affairs. John the Baptist stands there on the threshold inviting people to enter into something new and wonderful. The first reading speaks of one who has been anointed and brings good news to the poor, binding up the broken hearted and proclaiming liberty to captives and the beginning of a year of the Lord’s favour. The light is on its way! John is not the light, but the true light is on its way into the world.

John tells us that there is one among us that we do not recognize. God is working among us in ways that are perceptible only to the eyes of faith

John is interrogated as regards his identity. His preaching has had such a positive reaction that people begin to recognize him as an authentic prophet whose words carry weight. “Who are you?” they ask. “I am not the Christ”, he replies. “Well, who are you then?” they want to know. “Why are you doing these things? Those in power want to know your identity.” “I am only the beginning”, John tells them. “After me will come one who is much greater. I am a voice crying in the desert. In the midst of you is one that you do not recognize, one who will bring the promises to fulfilment”. In the midst of our lives there is someone that we do no know. God is working among us in ways that are not immediately perceptible.

John the Baptist invites us to see the action of God in everything that will happen to us. The Lord is coming into our lives and every future event is a potential encounter with him, the unfolding of our story of salvation

John the Baptist announces this work of God which is ongoing in our lives. Padre Pio used to say, “Entrust your future to Providence”. How important it is to abandon the future to the coming of the Lord. When I think of my future I must recognize the presence of this powerful One who will bring life in its fullness into my future existence. Where are the events of my life leading me? To the Kingdom of Heaven. Where will the action of God in my life take me? The question of my relationship with future things is an important one. Advent calls us to mediate on our relationship with the future. John the Baptist invites us to see the initiative of God in everything that will happen to us, to see the work of benevolent Providence in those things that are taking place. When we begin to see things in this manner then we understand our lives as being a story of salvation, the story of an Advent, the story of the arrival of God into the depths of our existence. We are fearful because we think of life as a journey towards emptiness and the void. Instead it is a journey which ends with a leap into the arms of God! Everything is a form of preparation, a preparation for growth, for a new love which will be sown in our hearts, a greater spirit of service towards others, a greater joy, a more mature knowledge, for deeper encounter with the Lord. This is a journey that never ends because when we discover these beautiful things we always long for more. When we encounter the Lord we are happy because we know for certain that he will return again, that he will not leave us alone, and that he wants to enter into our lives in a still deeper way.

Let us be assured that the Lord has only begun his work in us. There is so much more that he intends to do with us, so let us prepare for his coming!

John the Baptist invites us to contemplate the fact that things are still incomplete, to appreciate that what is most beautiful has yet to come. When the people demand to know who he is, if he is the one who has been promised, he replies that he is only the beginning of something marvellous. How often people who are living the faith need to realize that they are only at the beginning, that the Lord is going to do even greater things with them! It is important to be aware of this fact. How true it is! If we have known the Lord to any degree, let us be assured that we are only at the beginning, there is much more that the Lord wishes to give us.