REJOICE! THE LORD IS NEAR!
          On this third Sunday of Advent, there is a sudden change of mood, from a somber advent atmosphere in the first two Sundays of the season into a joyful anticipation. The liturgy itself, from the color of the vestments to its music, signal a shift in our advent preparation. We usually refer to the 3 ^rd Sunday of Advent as Gaudete Sunday — Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice.”  The first word in our entrance antiphon for this Mass:  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I say to you rejoice.”  We come to this Mass probably not necessarily in a “rejoicing” mood. How can I rejoice when my health continues to get worse each day? How can I be joyful if my job is at risk? How can I rejoice if my marriage seems to be going nowhere? And the protest against rejoicing can go and on depending on our situation. But, it is precisely in these difficult and seemingly unbearable situations when the Lord breaks open and announces this great rejoicing. The Prophet Zephaniah in the first reading announces that if we are in a dire situation and everything seems to be bleak, do not despair because the Messiah will come: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love; he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.”
     But, when this promise of deliverance and transformation doesn’t come right away, when it doesn’t meet the deadline that we set, there is a huge temptation to question the presence of God, are you for real, Lord? Or, in the words of John the Baptist, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”  Doubt arises when what we pray and hope for doesn’t come right away. We get frustrated, our confidence in God sometimes wanes. That’s why the second reading today, from the Letter to the Philippians, reminds us of the importance of patience:” have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
     God’s transformative power is not hurried; it seeks an interior renewal and conversion so that the external change that we seek can truly take place. If I long and seek for a better marital relationship, then I should probably start changing how I value my spouse, dwell more on the positive things rather than be trapped with the negative things that I see. If I want to externally see a positive change in my physical health, aside from starting a healthy lifestyle, I also have to see my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and be convinced about it. You see, there is a need for an inner change, an inner conversion to see the external change that we long for. But, if despite our own positive efforts nothing seems to be improving, we continue to find the joy and discover God’s unquestionable presence.
     I’ve mentioned this so many times before but we have to know the difference between joy and happiness. What is joy? How is it different from happiness? Happiness is what we feel when everything is going well and smooth. Happiness is more dependent on our
outward situations – health, fortune, work, etc. But, joy is being at peace with whatever situation we may face whether it is a happy or sad situation. It’s that assurance that though everything doesn’t always go right, life still makes sense. It’s not dependent on outward circumstances but, rather, on our own relationship with God. Another way to put it is that we have happiness BECAUSE of our situation; we have joy IN SPITE OF our situation. A person who might be suffering from a chronic illness may understandably not feel happy, but he/ she can still remain joyful because of the love and care of those people around him/her or because of his/her faith and trust in God.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew what real joy is!  After being imprisoned in a concentration camp and eventually executed by the Nazi’s, he had this to say about joy. While he was at the camp, he wrote:  “A sort of joy exists that knows nothing at all of the heart’s pain, anguish, and dread; it does not last; it can only numb a person for the moment. The joy of God has gone through the poverty of the manger and the agony of the cross; that is why it is invincible, irrefutable. It does not deny the anguish, when it is there, but finds God in the midst of it, in fact precisely there; it does not deny grave sin but finds forgiveness precisely in this way; it looks death straight in the eye, but it finds life precisely within it. What matters is this joy that has overcome. It alone is credible; it alone helps and heals. The joy of our companions who have been called home is also the joy of those who have overcome — the Risen One bears the marks of the cross on his body. We still stand in daily overcoming; they have overcome for all time. God alone knows how far away or near at hand we stand to the final overcoming in which our own death may be made joy for us.” So, if you are having a hard time rejoicing today because of what you are going through, know that God became flesh precisely to offer you hope, to give you his very life; he died for you and that death gave you new life; eternal life awaits us. So, if we are tempted to ask Jesus in the words of John the Baptist, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”, Jesus will answer us: “You knew what I did for you and for all: the blind regain their sight; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Now, trust and have confidence in God, and you will rejoice! – Fr. Cary