Reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), Year B

 

THE LORD IS COMING TO RESTORE OUR JOY

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2a. 10-11, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8. 19-28

 

Today is the third Sunday of Advent also known as Gaudete Sunday. The word gaudete in Latin is the second-person, plural imperative form of the verb gaudere which means to be glad or to rejoice. So, gaudete itself could be translated as ‘you rejoice!’ or simply as ‘rejoice’. Ideally, moments of expectancy comes with certain feelings of trepidation and weariness. That is why in the midst of our eager longing for the Lord’s coming, the Church in the readings of today urges us to rejoice and to let our hearts be filled with joy for the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer and that when he comes, he will bring us glad tidings.

The entrance antiphon of today’s Mass gives us the very first reason why we should rejoice. We are to rejoice because the Lord’s coming is near (Phil 4:4-5). Apart from that, St. Paul in the second reading encourages us to rejoice and to always be thankful even when the circumstances around us offer us no reason to be joyful, for the will of God in Christ Jesus for us is to be joyful at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). This exhortation to rejoice is very apt especially in this time of general distress, anxiety and sorrows. We have to note that we may not cure the world of sorrows but we can choose to live in joy. That is why St. Paul urges us never to allow our present troubles to dampen our joyful spirit. Rather, we should keep our spirit, soul and body, sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

When the Lord comes, he will accomplish the same mission which Isaiah spoke about in the first reading. He will bring good news to those who are poor and afflicted, bind up the broken-hearted, proclaim liberty to those who are in captivity of all sorts and open prisons to those who are bound. He will announce the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God and comfort those who grieve and mourn (Is. 61:1-3).

Dear friend, one lesson we learn from the ministry of John the Baptist as we read in the gospel of today is that the joy of life is in the living and finding that joy becomes very hard when we are always chasing after realities beyond us while refusing to accept who we truly are or are not appreciating what we have at the moment (John 1:19-23). So, on this Gaudete Sunday therefore, we are invited to ask ourselves these questions. What constitutes our JOY? In what ways have we allowed impatience, anxiety and the cares of this world deprive us of seeking eternal JOY? In what ways have we, through our actions and inactions, deprived others of their JOY? Finally, as we wait for the Lord, let us be mindful of the fact that our joy is not perfected until it is shared with others.