If you have taken any notice to the look and feel of the liturgy during these past two weeks of Advent you will realize that things have taken on a more penitential attitude. We are accustomed to singing "Glory to God in the Highest" prior to the opening prayer of the Mass, but in Advent we do not use this joyful hymn. It is normal to walk into the Church and see it decorated with many beautiful flowers, but in Advent they cannot be found. The music also takes this penitential form because it reflects the season that we are currently inside. Even the white garment that I wear called an alb reflects the attitude of this season because it is plain and is not adorned with any lace. If we look to the banners hanging high upon the wall we notice the liturgical color of the season which is violet. This color calls us to a penitential attitude where we prepare ourselves for something and ask of the Lord's mercy upon our sinfulness. Today we remain inside of the season of Advent, but are reminded of our need to rejoice.
In the Church this third Sunday of Advent is known as "Gaudete Sunday" which is Latin for "rejoice." On this Sunday we have a lot to rejoice about because we realize that the coming of the Christ child is drawing near. As we rejoice on this day we remain inside of the season of Advent, but should realize our need to rejoice. Our liturgy reflects this reality as we continue to move ourselves closer to Christ's birth. The music begins to pick up with this tone of rejoicing. As you can tell we take a break from wearing violet and get to wear the liturgical color of rose. This is only one of two appearances that rose makes during the liturgical year. The other time that it is worn is when we take a break from the penitential character during one Sunday of Lent. And so as the Church begins to rejoice inside of this great season we should begin to do the same. As each of us here continues to prepare for the coming of Christ we rejoice at the fact that he will be coming very soon within the Christmas season.
Saint Paul bluntly instructs the Philippians to rejoice. They should be filled with joy because the Lord's coming is ever drawing nearer. They are instructed that they should not be filled with anxiety at his arrival because this is a good thing to prepare for. We likewise should not be filled with anxiety as we continue to prepare for the Lord's coming. It can become easy to fall into seeing God and Christ as a judge who sits in the sky judging us for all that we do. If this is our experience of God then anxiety at His arrival would become very understandable. God is truly full of love and we can see this from the mutual sharing that is found inside of the Holy Trinity. Anytime that we fall away from God's love we are turning towards ourselves and away from this life giving love. There is much rejoicing for each sinner who returns to God with a repentant heart because they are returning to God's great overflowing of love. We should not await the coming of Christ with anxiety because with His coming excitement can be found through the abundance of love that He brings into our lives.
Our first reading shows the great excitement that should be had for the one that is to come. There is a realization that we should no longer be filled with discouragement because The Lord is prepared to enter into our midst. In a matter of days we will have the opportunity to sing joyfully because God has come into the world as man. The sin that has been brought into the world has caused reason for fear, but with Christ present in our midst we have nothing to fear because forgiveness is constantly being showered upon each of us. Our rejoicing should be centered upon the reality that Christ is fully divine and yet fully human and through His Sacrificial action has brought salvation into each of our lives. May we constantly challenge ourselves to turn away from our enemy of sin because through this action we can draw ourselves closer to Christ who gives us reason to rejoice with all the angels of Heaven this day.
The crowds whom we encounter in today's Gospel reading had the realization that their baptism required something more from them. Saint John the Baptist told them of the many things that they needed to do within their lives because the coming of the Messiah was quickly approaching. We should join with this crowd today in asking ourselves what we should do to prepare for this moment. We should be prepared to leave the barrenness of everyday life behind and trust in The Lord our God who is coming into our lives to bring us reason to rejoice. When we remain stuck in the barrenness of sin and the many tragedies that can be found within the world it is easy to see no reason to rejoice. It is only through turning our hearts towards the infinite love of Christ that we can move forward with reason to rejoice. We have all heard of the tragic shooting in a Connecticut school by now and are filled with sorrow at this horrendous crime that brought about the death of many people including that of children. We look upon this and similar crimes with sorrow, but despite them we must trust in The Lord who has come into our midst. He is our only hope that death and sin does not have the final say within our lives and for that we still have reason to rejoice.
In the midst of our own sinfulness and the sorrow that comes with any tragedy may we rejoice this day at the coming of the Christ child. We realize that the world is far from a perfect place, but despite that we have hope that is found within the coming of Christ. He came into the world and redeemed each of us through His death upon the cross thus giving meaning and hope to our lives. May we use the few days that we have left inside of this season to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah for on this day we have true reason to rejoice. May we cry out to The Lord with joy and gladness as we continue to prepare ourselves for His coming.
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