Breaking Open the Word
By James Cavanagh
Dec. 13: Third Sunday of Advent
Scripture readings:
• Zephaniah 3:14-18
• Responsorial: Isaiah 12:2-6
• Philippians 4:4-7
• Luke 3:10-18
Overview: The third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday” because the main theme of the readings is joy. Zephaniah preached to the inhabitants of Judah/Jerusalem in the seventh century B.C. right before the Babylonian Captivity. The book is quite short: only three chapters long. In the first chapter Zephaniah warns his people about the destruction that’s about to come due to moral corruption and religious syncretism. The second chapter deals with God’s judgment against other nations. Chapter three, from which this week’s first reading comes, promises comfort, peace and joy, foreseeing that day when the Lord will renew ‘the daughter of Jerusalem’ in his love. In our second reading, St. Paul urges us to “rejoice in the Lord always!” This is especially amazing given the fact that Paul penned these words from prison. Paul was full of joy because he was full of Christ, even in the most dismal place. In the Gospel reading John the Baptist urges the people to share their goods with those who are less fortunate in order to prepare the way of the Lord. The Lord will burn away the “chaff” of sin and selfishness so that he can enter the hearts of the faithful.
Key verse: “Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel” (Responsorial psalm).
“Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: ‘By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.’ Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings the mystery of our religion: ‘He was manifested in the flesh’” (No. 463).
Pope Benedict XVI: “If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique; something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great” (Inaugural homily, April 24, 2005).
Life application: Advent is about preparing a place in our hearts for Christ. When we give of ourselves as Christ did for the sake of others we lose nothing, for “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The only thing Christ takes away are selfishness, greed, impatience, anger and all the other vices that stand between us and God. The Blessed Virgin Mary perfectly exemplifies the joy of giving, for she gave everything she had: her own flesh and blood for the salvation of the world. That’s why she sang, “My spirit rejoices in God my savior."
