Fr Jack SJ MD: Gaudete, Rejoice: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent

Zep 3:14-18a

Phil 4:4-7

Lk 3:10-18

Gaudete in Domino semper,

iterum dice gaudete.

Dominus enim prope est.

“Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I say rejoice!

The Lord is near.”

Gaudete, the first word of the entrance antiphon means “rejoice.” It gives this 3rd Sunday of Advent its traditional name: Gaudete Sunday. Along with Laetare Sunday during Lent, this is one of the two Sundays of the liturgical year on which priests have the option of wearing either purple vestments or, ideally, the dusty rose vestments--not Pepto-Bismol pink-- that visually hint at the joy that is to come. Advent is now more than half over.

We begin to rejoice because in the words of the antiphon we know: Dominus enim prope est: The Lord is near. The Lord is very near.

We rejoice because Jesus was born in the same way we were, and into same world in which we live and breathe. He walked upon the same earth on which we work and relax, rejoice and mourn. Fully human, Jesus knew cold and heat, hunger and thirst, the feel of the earth under His feet and the feel of gentle breezes caressing His skin. We celebrate because Jesus walked this same planet, fully divine and fully human, like us in all things but sin. We rejoice because through his incarnation, birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father, through the entire arc of his life, not just his birth taken in isolation, Jesus brought us forgiveness of sin and opened the gates to eternal life.

The readings highlight the rejoicing for this Sunday. Zephaniah tells us:

"Be glad and exult with all your heart . . .The LORD has removed the judgment against you . . .the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,"

When the judgment against us was removed eternal life was opened for us. The responsorial psalm confirms what we know:

"My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation."

The Lord has been my savior. The Lord is my savior. The Lord will be my savior. Always and forever.

Paul is direct in his letter to the Philippians.

"Brothers and sisters:

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I shall say it again: rejoice!"

Our rejoicing will increase over the coming days until the Gloria in Excelsis Deo of Christmas explodes throughout the known universe and travels beyond it. Seven days before the vigil of Christmas, the Church’s anticipatory joy will enter another phase as we chant or recite the first of the seven ancient “O Antiphons” that introduce Luke's canticle:

"Magnificat anima mean . . . "

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

My spirit rejoices in God my savior."

The first antiphon will introduce Mary's Canticle on Friday:

"O sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

attingens a fine usque ad fine,

fortiter suaviterque disponens omnis:

veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae."

“O Wisdom, O holy Word of God.

You govern all creation with strong yet tender care.

Come and show your people the way to salvation.”

The final antiphon on December 23 celebrates Emmanuel, God with us:

“O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,

desire of the nations,

Savior of all people,

come and set us free, Lord our God.”

If you were write the O Antiphons in a column from the first to the last and then read the first letter of the word following the O from bottom to top you get a Latin anagram: Ero Cras which translates as "tomorrow I will be," "tomorrow I will be there," "tomorrow I will come." These antiphons are the basis for the hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel.

The Messiah was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. He was announced by John the Baptist, an Old Testament prophet who bridges the Old Covenant and the New. John the Baptist of whom we heard in the Gospel, who exhorted the people, and preached to them the Good News.

The time of waiting is coming to an end. Only one more Sunday stands between us and the great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord. Expectant waiting will be replaced by unfettered joy. Ero Cras will come to fulfillment.

Gaudete in Domino semper,

iterum dice gaudete.

Dominus enim prope est.

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Every day the canticle for lauds (morning prayer) is the Canticle of Zechariah, which he recited after his tongue was loosed. In the last stanza we hear:

"In the tender compassion of our God,

the dawn from on high shal break upon us

to shine of those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

and to guide out feet in the way of peace."

These lines invariably come to mind when I am able to get out with the camera before sunrise.