Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

Here is the homily that I gave in Rocky Mount this past weekend. It is the first one that I have written out in while, per my wife's advice. She was right. I think that it was very helpful and allowed me to work through my thoughts in a deeper and more complete way. 

3^rd Sunday of Advent

St. Paul tells the Philippians “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice” (Philippians 4:5)

During Advent, the Church reminds us as the people of God that we Rejoice, and faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, to do this we must be prepared in heart, mind, body and soul, not only receive the light of salvation that Jesus Christ has brought into the world, but we also must be able to recognize him when he comes.

This is the real task, seeing and rejoicing in what God has done for his people. Recognizing that Jesus is the great gift of Christmas and that each one of us must know Jesus is our true Lord and King. Leading us to ask the great question “God what do you want me to do, how am I to live and rejoice in what you have given me because of you Son?”

What then is this Salvation that we Rejoice in? What has the Son of God done?

The great Advent Song tells us well, “O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear, Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel”

This hymn is the story of a people longing for freedom and the release from exile, the exile caused by sin. The story of them a long way from God, brought back to him, at last able to serve him as true God and Creator. Israel’s story is also our story. This is why we are freed from sin, in order that we may serve and worship God, loving him and those around us. If we are only serving sin and are enslaved by it power, then we cannot be a part of God’s plan. We must learn to let God act in our lives and pray that his Spirit guide us along the path he has chosen for us. No matter how strange or difficult that path may seem to us and more likely than not, this path will be vastly different from the one we would have chosen on our own.

In the life of Saint Paul, we see this well, he writes to the Philippians and tells them seven times to “rejoice” in their lives as Christians, as he has. He says them this, not from a hotel, not from a palace, not from a mansion on a hill, no not at all. But from a prison, waiting to see if he would be released or executed, there was no in between back then, not like today when people serve time then go back home. No, Paul says from behind bars and in chains, “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:18-21)

That is someone acting out fully, with faith, the fact Jesus is the Savior of the world and he is living a life in a way that reflects this truth. He firmly believes, as we all should, that no matter what, when I live my life according to God’s plan, not matter how it turns out, it is what I should and must be doing because God is praised and glorified through it. This is what we as Christians “Rejoice” in daily.

Why then must we recognize who Jesus is when he comes? Because if we do not really know who Jesus is, why he was born, why he lived, why he died, and that he still lives, then how can we be his faithful people? How can we know his plan for our lives? That’s the problem in today’s Gospel, the people are looking for the promised savior, the Messiah, they knew what he was supposed to do, but they could not recognize him.

The Pharisees come to John the Baptist and they want to know just what he is doing out here in the desert. He is drawing enough people to make them take notice, “They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” (John 1:24-28)

Like so many today, they miss the fact that Jesus is our true King and God, they ignore completely the important gift that God sent his own Son into the world, and that they may have new life and peace with God through this Jesus.

We can then bring this into our present time, instead of Advent being a season of expectation and hope, it has become a season of greed and profit, totally missing the entire point of the birth of the Savior. Do we rejoice in the gifts around our tree or about the greatest gift of all, the gift of God’s love in his Son? This is the task and challenge of knowing who Jesus really is, not getting caught up in so much extra baggage and shopping lists, that we find ourselves saying, “I can’t wait for Christmas to be over”. That is not rejoicing!

We also must not get caught up in sinfulness but prepare our minds to meet Jesus as well. The opening prayer from today’s Traditional Mass says, “By the Grace of Your Visitation, enlighten the darkness of our minds”. Doing what St. Paul tells us in the reading, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-21) If more Christians followed this pattering of living, letting God’s Spirit be at work in them, this world would be a vastly different place.

Like someone cleaning out a closet, we must get read of all of our old clothes, those ones that are worn out and that no longer fit. All that extra stuff that takes up room in our closet, in order to make room for Jesus. This Advent we are called to refresh our minds and hearts, to receive Jesus. Then we can take him and the light that he gives us, out into his world. Rejoicing always that God is at work in us. Knowing that the faithful God, as St. Paul says, will accomplish the plan he has for us. (1 Thessalonians 5:24) 

What does this life look like today? How do we live as God’s rejoicing people standing by the nativity cave, or at the empty Tomb, but also his weeping people at the foot of the Cross? How do we bring the Good News of the gift of God’s Son to a world trapped in so much darkness? My wife recently told me a story about one of her friends from college who is living out this life daily.

            “Yesterday, our sweet Avery, who is 4 years old, was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor. It is incurable and very little treatment exists. Average prognosis is 9-12 months. Right now, she in only struggling with be clumsy and double vision. She also has some facial weakness. Which is why they took her to the doctor in the first place. She will be undergoing 5-6 weeks of radiation, daily. This will hopefully shrink the tumor and give us a “honey moon” period of quality time to spend with her. They are trying to figure out how the make the most of the time that is left. We are living a nightmare and I find it hard to breathe when I think of what is to come. I am clinging to Jesus and praying for a miracle, but I know that regardless of what happens, we are in His hands, and we think God for the good times we have had.” 

So, no matter if it’s the faithful Apostle in the 1^st Century or the loving mother in the 21^st Century, the great gift that we are preparing for, the gift that we rejoice and hope in, is the sure love, mercy, and presence, of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us all prepare to meet the one who can turn darkness into light and tears into rejoicing.