‘Rejoice in the Lord always;
Again, I say rejoice!
Indeed, the Lord is near.’
This antiphon, which every year opens the liturgy on the Third Sunday of Advent, gives it a particular character. It is like a backdrop on which are superimposed different elements of the celebration, or a musical theme developed with variations from year to year. This day has been called: ‘Gaudete Sunday,’ after the Latin ‘gaudere’, to rejoice. And ‘rejoice’ is a term that suits it well. The mention of joy is found in the opening prayer and in the communion antiphon: ‘Lord God, may we your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate the feast with love and thanksgiving. — God of mercy, may this Eucharist bring us your divine help, free us from our sins, and prepare us for the birthday of our Saviour.’
The first reading for this Sunday, taken from the Book of Zephaniah, is like a psalm, which appears clearly when we view the text in stanza. In the first verse, four imperative verbs call for rejoicing: ‘Shout for Joy!— Sing aloud! —Rejoice— and exalt with all your heart!’ Far from being an isolated instance in prophetic literature, this invitation is characteristic of all evocations of the messianic age. Salvation and joy are synonymous. The Lord brings liberation to his people, freeing them from having to serve the sentence that sin had placed on them.
‘Do not fear,’ said the angel to Mary when he came to announce to her that she would conceive and bear the Saviour. ‘Do not be afraid!’ Says the risen Jesus to the women who came to the tomb on Easter morning. ‘Fear not,’ announces the prophet to Zion, for ‘the Lord your God, is in your midst, a mighty One who will save.’
These events enliven the joy and good spirits of God himself. Zion, ‘forsaken’ and ‘desolate’ becomes again the one the Lord calls ‘my delight’ and ‘espoused.’ He goes so far as to ‘sing joyfully because of her.’ This prophecy becomes abundantly clear in the framework of the liturgy of Advent. We truly are ‘at a festival.’
‘Sing and shout for joy for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel’
Saint Paul tells us:’I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness.’ — ‘Rejoice in the Lord always! I say again rejoice.’
It is common to say that one rejoices because of a person — for what he or she brings or for what happens to him or her — or that one shares in another’s joy. But ‘In the Lord’ is a common turn of phrase in Paul, of great theological importance, it implies union with Christ, source of all that is evoked — in this instance, Joy. It means, moreover, that joy cannot be held in check by anything, by any exterior tribulation. Paul writes a most beautiful example of this: ‘For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels or principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.’
This joy is not demonstrated in untimely and noisy manifestation, often more or less forced, or in paradoxical expressions of sadness and deep anxiety. It is, rather, marked by ‘serenity,’ as can be seen, for example, in certain invalids or the elderly. It is a joy, also, that guards against anxiety, this formidable evil from which so many of our contemporaries suffer, and that frequently goes hand in hand with the unshakable feeling of being abandoned by God. Above all, it is an interior peace ‘in the Lord’ a surrendering to his providence and love, which Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, makes a fundamental requirement for the kingdom.
This placing of oneself in the hands of God does not signify resignation or fatalism. The Christian confides his or her cares to God in prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. For how can one petition for today and tomorrow without remembering what one received yesterday and the day before?
Among all the gifts of the kingdom, peace, ‘the peace of God,’ is the supreme gift: it is ‘beyond all understanding.’ We ask for it at Holy Communion, the moment when, with the Body and Blood of Christ, we receive the pledge of eternal life. For this peace is almost equivalent to blessedness. Nothing can ruin it, neither wars, nor persecutions, nor trials. It is the last word pronounced at the moment of death and at Christian funerals, as at the end of all liturgical celebrations, the Eucharist in particular: ‘Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.’; — ‘Rest in peace.’
Now we turn to today’s Gospel and the Baptist. Luke presents the ministry of John the Baptist in a manner equal to that of the fourth Gospel. Moreover, his account includes a distinct portion, which is found in the reading for this Sunday, that portrays the typical concerns and aspects of Luke’s Gospel.
The evangelist first sets the scene among ‘the crowds who came to be baptised by John.’ Throughout the Gospel of Luke, ‘the crowds’ press around Jesus, witnessing with their good will, their eagerness to listen to him. So it is here,— they ask John ‘What ought we do?’ One could say that, by instinct, ‘the crowds’perceive that it is not enough to listen to a teaching: it must put it into practice. The Baptist preaches conversion. Good enough, but how are we to do that? John’s response is simple. On the whole, he requires nothing extraordinary: ‘Let the man who has two tunics give to him who has none. The man who has food should do the same!’ This sharing exemplifies ‘simple’ charity on behalf of those who lack the basic necessities of clothing and food. Jesus will make greater demands: ‘When someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well…..When a man takes what is yours, do not demand it back.’ Nonetheless, ‘simple’ charity is truly a sure sign of conversion. The poor know better than to be fooled by its absence: ‘If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, ‘Goodbye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed,’ but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that.’ (James 2:15-16)
The Tax collectors are the second group to question John the Baptist. They are typical examples, in Luke, of those whom Jesus was sent as a friend and merciful Saviour. They address the Baptist with the respectful title ‘Teacher.’ He does not tell them to abandon their profession but: ‘Exact nothing over and above your fixed amount’; do not use your position to enrich yourselves unjustly. Zaccaeus will go further, and spontaneously, when he encounters Jesus.
The third group, strangely enough, is composed of soldiers, undoubtedly mercenaries of Herod Antipas. They leave the ranks of ‘the crowd’ in order to pose the question ‘What about us?’ The response comes without hesitation: ‘No intimidation, no extortion! Be content with your pay.’ Do not abuse your power through pillage and plunder. This kind of writing is typical of Lukes style and thought. He often expresses the importance of action, above all in the social realm, and, in a word, effective charity. He does not give us a set of precepts or detailed rules, but he suggests concrete principles of action that each person must employ in his or her particular situation.
Luke’s Gospel places clear demands on those who believe in the Lord. The text here deals with the constant state of conversion that must always be present, even for those who already believe. The concrete character of the text and Luke’s ability to adapt to circumstances make it a model Gospel for all preaching and exhortation that strives to reflect the realties of life.
John the Baptist, as all four evangelists witness — clearly perceived his mission was to prepare a way for an Other who was greater than he. He said that his ‘Baptism with water’ was only a rite of penance and conversion. The one to come would baptise in the Holy Spirit. But he would also be like a farmer who gathers the grain in his storehouse and burns the chaff ‘in unquenchable fire.’ In order to drive home this point, John the Baptist, playing on words speaks of a ‘baptism of fire.’ Jesus the Messiah, is the Judge at the end of time. The faith of the Church and its prayer must not neglect this aspect of his role. Today — more than ever before — the imperative remains: to live ‘baptised in the Holy Spirit.’
Luke summarizes John the Baptist’s mission by saying that: ‘He preached the good news.’ Moreover, the urgent calls of the Precursor are nothing compared to the trials and tribulations that will precede the coming of the Power immediately after him. In the manner of the ancient prophecies, he proclaims in startling words that the Day of Judgement will be one none can escape. Believers know this and never cease preparing for the day of reckoning. They follow their path of conversion, and their hearts overflow with joy and gladness. Why should they fear the Lord in their midst? What can trouble their serenity when they have assurance that God hears their petitions and will give them his peace? Let us be like them!
During this preparatory season of Advent, and especially today Guadete Sunday there is room only for rejoicing and song:
‘Sound the trumpets in Zion, summon the nations; call the people together and tell them the good news: Our God and Saviour is coming. Proclaim the good news, let it be heard; tell it to everyone, shout it aloud. Our God and Saviour is coming’ (Office of Readings).
