This Gaudete Sunday prophet Zephaniah says: ‘sing, shout, rejoice and exult with all
your heart because the Lord, your king is coming with mercy, do not be afraid; God
doesn’t want you to live in despair for he has taken away judgment from you; he will
renew you in his love’. The reason for fear and unhappiness is sins of the world and
Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world; our hearts rejoice
as we recall his entry into the world at first Christmas. Paul says, ‘rejoice always,
because Christ has united himself with us in our humanity and in his coming to us in
the Eucharist. Our hearts rejoice for mercy received, for the gift of forgiveness; praise
and thanksgiving overflows in our hearts for salvation in Christ.
John the Baptist says that his ministry of proclaiming repentance is just the beginning;
the one who builds the kingdom of God in you with the power of the Holy Spirit is
coming, he is in your midst. The fire of his love that burns the chaff of sin in the world is
the hope of the world; the Spirit is going to blow away the chaff, parts that you don’t
need in life, so you can rejoice! The chaff is unkind, greedy hearts that are far away
from God. Those who care for the earth, for the poor and as prophet Micah says, ‘who
struggle to do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God’ are friends of God. The joy
of this season is the great recognition that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, that we
may walk humbly with God. John the Baptist tells people that change happened
should be manifested in actions.
Caring love radiates joy! A college student shares his experience: arriving at university
one day, I bumped into an old man dressed in rags, nearly blind, covered in open
wounds because he kept falling over. In him I saw the image of Christ on the cross. I
helped him up and asked if he would like to take a bath. I somehow got the courage to
go to the principal and ask if the old man could use his bathtub. He was surprised by
my request but he agreed and provided all I needed to clean him up. The principal
asked me to explain my motivation for helping the poor beggar. I told him how the
choice to love our neighbor unites millions of people everyday. Some of my fellow
students who saw what I did also collected some money to buy new clothes for the old
man! During this pandemic we see such generous, caring love in so many healthcare
and frontline workers.
Advent is a time to be attentive to your inner self, time for silence, rest, reflection and
prayer, to long for a heart like that of Christ, a heart that finds joy in sharing, a humble,
generous heart that doesn’t do violence to others but rejoices in charity toward all!