Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent 2021
Homily preached by Fr Nicholas King SJ
Scripture readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
Rejoice! As I say, today is Gaudete Sunday; and that means that you can rejoice as we take a brief break from our Advent austerity. Now you may say that it is not possible to rejoice just now; you may, for example, be sadly contemplating the ruins of your plans for Christmas, or ruefully meditating on the fact that the virus, which we keep thinking we have conquered, remains lethally present.
“So why rejoice?”, I hear you cry. Well, in the first two readings that you have just heard, we noticed that the reason for joy consists in the line, “the Lord God is in your midst”; and in the second reading Paul insists that “the Lord is very near”, which is the same idea. Then in the gospel, we heard people asking JBapt, “What are we to do? How are we to behave?”. We simply notice the confidence with which he responds, and find there the presence of God. And there are more explicit reasons for joy. In the first reading we listen to the C7th prophet Zephaniah, inviting “Daughter Sion” to “rejoice”. And why is this? “Because the Lord has removed the judgement against you…You shall not fear judgement anymore”. What are the signs of joy? There is the exultant clamour of “He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love…I will save the lame and assemble the outcasts…I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth”. There is immense joy here.
Then the psalm is not really a psalm at all, for it comes from the prophet Isaiah; but once again it is a song of joy, this time for the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem: “give thanks to the Lord: call upon His name. Make his deeds known among the peoples”. The source of the joy is the unfailing presence of God, who can never let us down: “great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel”.
Then the second reading is from Paul at his joyful best (and remember that as he wrote /dictated he was languishing in a Roman prison, from which he might not emerge alive). We join cheerfully in the exuberance of his joy: “Rejoice in the Lord all the time; again I shall say it: rejoice! And the reason for all this joy? “The Lord is near”. That unfailing presence of God is reason to celebrate, even if sometimes it seems to us that God is a bit absent. And this has implications: “make your requests known to God in prayer and asking, with thanksgiving concluding in the lovely prayer: “the peace of God, which goes beyond anything we can understand, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”; there is ample reason for joy here.
When it comes to the gospel, however, the joy is not quite so obvious. Look at what disciples are invited to do:
Crowds: “share your clothes with those who have none”. We are not expected even to have a spare tunic!
tax-collectors: “do nothing more than what is laid down for you” (how are they to live, you hear them ask?)
soldiers: “don’t extort and don’t defraud; and be content with your wages” Listen carefully: “are you serious?”. No fun in our lives any more.
It sounds horrendous; what are they supposed to live on, for Heaven’s sake?
But reflect: can you remember a time when you acted generously like that, and what you felt like then? Was there a sense of joyful freedom?
Then there is a further stage: who is JBapt and who is the Messiah? After that: what is the Messiah like? JBapt tells us: Jesus is superior à baptising in HSp & fire; not water; winnowing fork in his hand (whatever that might be! A combination of a dustpan and a brush and a spade. Sounds pretty challenging.)
Then the final sentence: “in many ways he gave them comfort, and gospelled the people”.
Joy because God is on our side and in our midst. There is nothing better than that.