Gaudete Sunday: The third Sunday of Advent is known us Joyful (Gaudete) Sunday. It is because of the joy that the Second Person of the Trinity is coming down from heaven to redeem us, the humankind. First the prophets were sent in to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah; Jesus was born a human for our redemption; He would send out his disciples to proclaim the Good News of Joy; and today we are invited to be the bearers of this good news.
Sending out with joyful Message: The Baby Jesus is the Good News. In this sending to proclaim the good news is filled with fullness of heart and happiness; and this is for us still to make it full in our own lives. Each one of us have a role to play in this redemptive event.
Isaiah is happy that he was chosen; he was sanctified; and he was sent out to proclaim the Good News. The focus of his good news is justice and love. God punished humankind in justice; but He redeemed humankind in love. And hence, Paul tells the Thessalonians in his first letter to rejoice always. His joy is full as he was chosen to fulfill his part in the redemptive plan of God, which only he could fulfill. And the Gospel points out the person who was sent out to prepare the way for the coming of God’s Good News – Jesus, the Messiah. This messenger is John, the Baptist. He was humble enough to say that he came to bear witness to the Light to come – He honestly acknowledged and accepted that he was not the Light but a reflection of the Light to come. He humbly but clearly proclaimed that the One who comes after him would be greater par excellence.
Christmas – Convergence of God and Human:
Christmas is the time when God and the human meet and merge. It is the time of grace when the Creator seeks and finds the created. ‘Christ’ merging with the ‘mass’ of people is ‘Christmas’ and Christmas reveals the common identity of Christ and the humans in God, the Father (that each one of the human being is created in the image and likeness of God, the Creator). Jesus proclaimed, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12); and He also asserted, “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). They are not two different lights but have the same origin: God. Jesus, as the God-Man, becomes the connecting link between God and us. He came into the world as the Light of God and He made us glow in His light. And that light is to be lived out for our fellow humans.
Love – Bridge between God and Humans:
Loving God is same as loving our fellow human beings, as John says, “Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they see, cannot love God, whom they do not see” (I Jn 4:20).
In a poem written by Leigh Hunt in 1834, Abou Ben Adhem sees one night an angel writing in a register. When asked, the angel replied that he was writing the names of those who love God. Filled with curiosity, Abou Ben asks whether his name was there in the list. The angel replies in the negative. Then, Abou Ben requests to put down his name as one who loves his neighbor. The next day, Abou Ben sees the angel again writing. When asked, the angel replies that she was writing the names of those blessed by God and shows the list to Abou Ben. His name was the first one in the list. Loving one’s neighbor is more meaningful and important than loving God.
The same idea is brought out by Leo Tolstoy in his short story, Where love is, God is (1885). Martin was a shoemaker – Every night he used to read the Bible. One night, he felt God telling him that He would visit him the next day. Martin gets up early morning, cleans his house and waits for God to visit him. As he looks out, he sees a fragile elderly man cleaning the snow on the road and he is shivering in the severe cold. Martin invites him and offers him a cup of hot tea. After a while, he sees a young lady carrying her infant who did not have warm clothes. Filled with compassion, Martin invites the mother with the child and offers them something to eat and provides warm clothes for the child – Both of them leave the house filled with gratitude. It is getting late. And there was a commotion on the street. When Martin came out, he saw a little boy who was caught red-handed stealing an apple from a street-seller. The boy was beaten up. Martin rushes there, rescues the boy, pays for the apple and gives the boy something to eat and sends him with joy in heart. It was already late in the evening and the expectation of Martin for the visit of God was diminishing. But at night, God appeared to him in sleep and thanked him for taking care of Him all three times he visited him. You never know whom you help – You might be helping God in human form! God does not just ask us to offer our help; but He wants us to offer ourselves fully and unconditionally in meeting the needs of others.
God coming to snatch us:
Christmas is the time when we are reminded of God coming in search of us; and he would not rest unless and until He would find us. Francis Thompson wrote the poem, The Hound of Heaven (1890). A young man tries to escape from God – He tries to hide himself in the thick forest, in darkness, amidst a crowd etc. But God with patience comes after him and finally He finds him and takes hold of him saying, ‘Rise, clasp My hand, and come!’ Christmas is a reminder that God comes to us, encounters us, and empowers us.
Christmas is the time where God is searching for us and often we search for Him. This is my Christmas season reflection in today’s context of war and hunger:
If you seek the Baby Jesus
And found the manger empty,
Then, search for Him amidst the babies
Mercilessly killed in wars and
Dying in hunger and in want
For no fault of their own.
The Baby Jesus might be there invisible
Wondering whether He should be born?
May the thought of Christmas
Kindle in us the feeling to live for the needy.
It is better to be known, as Abou Ben Adhem,
As one who loves his/her fellow human beings,
Than, one who ‘loves God’.
God came down seeking for us –
To tell us: seek for each other and find Me.
Francis P Xavier SJ
Homily: Gaudete Sunday
Dhyana Ashram, Chennai
Readings: Is 61: 1-2a, 10-11; Thes I 5: 16-24; and Jn 1: 6-8, 19-28
Homily @ Dhyana Ashram (Chennai) on 17Dec2023