2023/12/17 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Third Sunday of Advent
-Leo Rubinkowski, Manager of Events & Ministry Engagement
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” – Luke 1:46
What a rich collection of readings we have this Third Sunday of Advent! Just days away from celebrating the Nativity of the Lord—His self-revelation to all Creation!—the theme of the day makes perfect sense. We call this particular day “Gaudete Sunday” after the first word of the verse historically used to begin the day’s Mass: Gaudete in Domino semper, that is, “Rejoice in the Lord always….” The rest of the readings re-sound the call: “I rejoice heartily in the LORD,” says Isaiah; “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” proclaims the Blessed Mother; “Rejoice always,” instructs the Apostle Paul! REJOICE!
Why?
Now, one answer is obvious: Christ is coming; Christ is come! The Baptist cries out, now as then, “Make straight the way of the Lord!” That’s the point of the season, no? Christ’s coming into the world—His advent—happened as foretold, and it is imminent. Each occasion answers the deepest longings of the human heart; each is cause for celebration.
Just now, though, I have a different why in mind, because inasmuch as these readings communicate the reason for our rejoicing, they also dramatize the act of communication. These are readings about evangelizers, and the why I have in mind is this: Why do we rejoice? We rejoice because someone has told us the Good News. Our rejoicing is a response!
Why does Isaiah rejoice? The spirit of the Lord came to him, anointed him, and chose him to communicate God’s word to Israel. Why does Mary rejoice? The Lord came to her, His handmaid, and by her to the whole world. Why does Paul instruct the Thessalonians to rejoice? He came to them with the Gospel, and by receiving it, they learned that God wills their perfect holiness, their perfect closeness to Him. The prophet, the Mother of God, the Apostle, and the Church in Thessalonica rejoice because, first and foremost, God has come among them to save the world, but it’s also clear they wouldn’t be rejoicing if someone hadn’t told them this news in the first place (Isaiah 6; Luke 1; Acts 9; 1 Thessalonians 2).
The example in each case is of one to whom the Lord has come themselves going—and going joyfully—into the world with the same news they received. Like me, then, perhaps you’ll hear this Sunday’s readings and feel as though you’re being asked, days away from Christmas festivities, “What will you do about it? What will you do with this joy?”
I know as well as you do the answer to that question. I should announce the Gospel myself, but that’s a tall order, especially when I’m not feeling particularly joyful. The problem isn’t even necessarily sorrow or anger or some other experience typically opposed to joy; often, just feeling lukewarm is enough to get in the way of God. I’m thankful, then, that this Sunday’s readings also give me a reason to pause before I do anything rash, because the Baptist has something to show me.
John has been testifying, we learn, and his testimony is attracting attention. People want to know what any of us would want to know: “Who are you that this is your message?” Amazingly, John doesn’t answer directly. First, he tells his listeners who he is not: the Christ, Elijah (cf. Malachi 3), or the Prophet (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-19). When they demand an answer, he doubles down, even seeming to deny he has any agency at all. John’s interlocuters know, just as we do, that he is responsible for his words, but John’s choice to poetically identify himself as “the voice of one crying out” seems to me to mean a great deal. First, these are the words of the Prophet Isaiah, as though John doesn’t have anything original to say about himself, as though he is living according to a standard someone else set for him. Second, while Isaiah writes “A voice cries out,” John calls himself “the voice of one crying out,” as though he is distinct from the person crying out…an ephemeral extension of them, capable only of communicating what another generates. John doesn’t seem to think who he is matters very much, and just at this point in the account, his questioners grow frustrated enough to ask a different question: “Whoever you are, why are you spreading your message?” The fact that John replies clearly suggests this is something he does care about: “Someone else is coming, and although I have attracted crowds and disciples, I am less than a servant to Him.”
Like the other readings this Sunday, John’s message ought to inspire rejoicing. When the Forerunner cites Isaiah, he cites the passage we heard last week, which begins “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” John’s message is one of profound joy, just like Mary’s to Elizabeth, just like Isaiah’s to the Kingdom of Judah, and just like Paul’s to the Churches he helped found. What the gospel account unexpectedly throws into focus, though, is how joy can become a reality to us, rather than a feeling, if we cultivate humility and keep the focus on God. Humility opens up space that God continually fills with joy.
When God first comes to Isaiah, the soon-to-be prophet is afraid because he is “a man of unclean lips,” so God responds by sanctifying him. Paul regularly insists that he possesses nothing of real value except the Gospel, wherein resides his strength. When Elizabeth blesses Mary and asks how the Mother of God should pay her a visit, Mary redirects the praise to God alone. Some translations emphasize her humility especially well, reading “My soul doth magnify the Lord.” (The good in her is passing through her to the world; it is from God, but God has allowed her to make it more apparent.) In various ways, each of them openly acknowledges that what they have to give the world, the joy of their message, is not from them, but from God. They insist upon this fact and keep it close at heart, where God can constantly re-affirm it!
In the midst of Advent, and then in the midst of Christmas, it is not hard to feel the fervor of our joy in Christ. Good! As it ought to be! This Sunday’s readings remind us, though, that God communicates with His people through those who rejoice in Him. It’s important to cultivate our Christian joy in all seasons and in all circumstances because we can’t know when God will choose to meet someone through our witness. We have to humbly remind ourselves that our joy doesn’t belong to us or to a holiday; it’s for all people at all times. “Rejoice always,” says Paul; in light of this Sunday’s readings, I can’t help but hear the additional call in those words: “Evangelize always!”
Happy Advent, dear friends! The Lord is near!