Fr. William Fennelly
Today we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, also called ‘Gaudete Sunday.’ It’s called ‘Gaudete Sunday’ because it takes its name from the first word of the entrance antiphon meaning rejoice. So we’re supposed to rejoice today, to be happy, but why? Advent as a whole is about expecting and preparing, hoping and working. That expectation and preparation; however, has a twofold character: expectation and preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, his birth; but also expectation and preparation for the second coming of Christ at the end of the world, the end of time. So during Advent we’re not just looking towards Christmas, but we’re also looking beyond that to Christ’s second coming at the end of time. And whilst the best way to try and prepare ourselves during Advent for these events is to pray earnestly that Christ will indeed come, to pray that we will repent and change our way of seeing, nevertheless on Gaudete Sunday we take a step back from that earnest atmosphere, so we can allow ourselves to experience that joy and gladness which Christ’s coming holds out to us. Our preparing has a joyful quality because of what is to come but also because the joy of that coming transforms our daily round. But what is it that we are rejoicing about and why should it make us happy?
Today’s gospel uses the contrast between Our Lord and John the Baptist to help us understand what is going on. To begin with, they both had a long history together, going right back to their childhood. Their relationship, therefore, was neither casual nor insignificant; it was deep rooted. So when Mary discovered her friend Elizabeth was pregnant she came to visit Elizabeth to offer her support. That decision to offer support, however, led to the occasion of an even more important event, the first meeting of Our Lord and John the Baptist. The God of Israel left the temple to dwell in Mary’s womb. By this act he forever changed God’s relationship with the flesh, with our humanity. He doesn’t just draw near; he inhabits our world as one of us. This was why John, as he experienced the presence of the Lord in the womb of Mary for the first time, he famously leapt for joy in the womb of his own mother, Elizabeth and so began the relationship between these two as John realised all the good work that the Lord would do.
John’s own contribution to that work is in no way minor or lesser. He represented a culmination of all that was good in Israel. He represented the culmination of prophecy in Israel. He called Israel to repentance. He called Israel to change their way of seeing and as we can see in the gospel that he pleaded Israel to change their behaviour. He insisted that people should be just, honest, and generous. But, as important as all that John did, was; moral goodness alone, which effectively was what John, preached, couldn’t and wouldn’t change the world. There is no shortage of morally good people who can testify to this. Moral goodness alone, for all its value and importance, won’t free us from our sin and it certainly can’t earn us eternal life with God. For that to be possible something more is needed and that’s what Our Lord offered through his life, death, and resurrection. This great torrent of grace, this great torrent of his gift to the world, what does he give? He gives his love at work in the world. That’s what unleashed by Our Lord’s sacrifice, it perfects our moral life, it raises up our human nature, and it makes possible eternal life with God.
And if this doesn’t make us happy, then what will. Because after all the point of Christ’s coming is to renew the world, that is to say to give us newness of life and this renewal won’t just be in some modest or slight way. It won’t be the sort of thing we have in mind when we say, ‘well, things could be better’. No, when we focus on the ultimate point of Christ’s coming and allow ourselves to rest contentedly in the joy that this can let loose in us, then we will realise that what’s envisaged here is a fundamental change that will overthrow the shackles of our own inadequacies, the sticky molasses of our power plays and our petty rivalries, the effects of sin; in ourselves and in the world and after this change nothing will ever be the same again. No one will need ever to wish that things could be better for them in any way at all. Everything will be as God always intended things should to be and all of us will be better for that.
So today then let’s pray for the coming of Our Lord. Let’s immerse ourselves in the joy that this gives rise to and let this be our springboard to ever better discipleship and together let’s work to build the kingdom that is to come.