THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Zephania 3, 14-18; Phil 4, 4-7; Luke 3, 10-18: 3RD SUNDAY- Year C)

    Joy is the dominant theme of this third Sunday of Advent. The first reading takes up this theme, which the entrance antiphon started. It runs through the responsorial psalm and we will still see it in the second reading. The liturgy, therefore, exhorts us to be joyful. But the social environment which we live in, with all its manifold social, financial, security and health problems, seems to dampen this clarion call to be joyful. However, the type of joy we are invited to have is an interior and spiritual one. It is not superficial, artificial or external joy that is motivated by human consideration but spiritual and interior joy that is rather motivated by deep religious faith. 

    In the first reading, Jerusalem is called upon to rejoice, exult with all your heart. She is to rejoice because the Lord is present. God is in the midst of his people and offers them security and assurance. The presence of God is surely a legitimate motive for joy. But the ultimate reason for joy is the knowledge that God loves his people as he would like to renew you by his love. The profound motive for us to have joy should be the conviction that God loves us. If God loves us, no matter how difficult we find things, God will be able to bring us out from any type of difficulties or mess. The highest point of God’s love for us was concretized by sending His beloved Son to save the world. He offered His son to be immolated for our salvation. Jesus, completed the gesture of love, which God the Father started by his death and resurrection. In addition, Jesus promised an abiding presence and protection through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

    The call in today’s liturgy to be joyful (as we tried to analyze above) was repeated by Paul in the second reading. He was making this call even when he was in prison, in physical confinement. It was neither easy for him nor his flock. Nevertheless, he and his flock were to be joyful. This was because the Lord was near. The Lord does not abandon us; he is always near us, and ready to get us out of our difficulties. Paul used the opportunity of the nearness of the Lord to enjoin the Philippians and us to pray, that is to say, to enter into loving relationship with this Lord. It is a relationship in which God will guide us in seeking and doing His will. By so doing we will grow in intimacy with Him and our joy will abound and over flow.

    It is when we are in such good relationship with the Lord that we will be in the position to perceive what concrete things to do in our lives for the preparation of Christmas, as John the Baptist indicates in today’s gospel reading. We would, then better understand his instruction: If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and anyone who has something to eat must do the same. By this he holds that whatever we have in excess belongs to our neighbour who is in need of it. Furthermore, we have to share what we have with one another and even to deprive ourselves of legitimate rights in order to make our neighbours happy and joyful. It is when we are in prayer relationship with God that we will be able to use our positions of power for the service of our neighbours judiciously and profitably and not for selfish purposes. Our loving relationship with God in prayer will make it possible for us to respect the dignity of every person and eschew from our lives all sorts of expression of violence and little terrorist-like insinuations towards our neighbours. Let us joyfully prepare for the coming of the Lord in our lives especially at Christmas through intensive loving relationship with God in prayer and active charity to our needy neighbours. 

 Happy Sunday! +John I.Okoye