Liturgical Colour : Rose (Gaudete Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we mark the occasion of the Third Sunday of Advent, also commonly known as the Gaudete Sunday. The name Gaudete means ‘Joy’ and it highlights the theme that we focus on in this Sunday during this time of Advent preparation for the coming joy and celebration at Christmas, among the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. This name Gaudete came from the Introit of this Gaudete Sunday, which goes by like this: ‘Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete’, which means ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice’. And this invites us all to remember of the upcoming great joy that we are going to celebrate together at Christmas, and which is why as we focus on the expectation of the upcoming Joy of Christmas, this Sunday marks a relaxation of the usually more sombre Advent tone.

In our first reading this Sunday from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the reassuring words of the Lord reminding all of His people of the upcoming great joy that they all shall share through and with Him, when He would one day show unto them the joy of His coming, as He has promised to all of them, that He would come into their midst, bringing upon them the deliverance and salvation that had been long expected and awaited for by everyone. This came at the appropriate time because by the time the Lord spoke these words through Isaiah, the people of God, the Israelites had been facing lots of struggles, hardships and difficulties. Those who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel had very recently suffered great humiliation and trial, of having their country, cities and livelihood turned upside down by the Assyrians who came to conquer their lands.

Many of the people of God, parts of the tribes of Israel were brought into exile in distant lands and their own homeland became parcelled off and divided amongst foreigners and pagans. And those who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah did not have it better either, as they also faced difficulties and hardships from those enemies all around them as well, and the looming threat of the Assyrians that could overwhelm their kingdom and cities at that time just as how it happened to their northern neighbours earlier on. But the Lord reassured His people through His prophets including Isaiah that He would always be with them, protecting and guiding them through those difficult days and moments.

Eventually, He would send them His deliverance and hope through the Saviour that He would send into their midst, and all of these were fulfilled when Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, born into the House of David, the Son of God Himself, incarnate in the flesh, came into this world. And it is this great Joy which we have been preparing ourselves throughout this time of the Advent season, preparing ourselves wholeheartedly so that we may indeed celebrate this Christmas with true and great Joy, and focus ourselves on what we truly ought to rejoice about in this most joyful and wonderful season and time. We should not forget that Christmas is ultimately about celebrating what the Lord had done for us most generously through His Beloved Son, and not about comparing who among ourselves can hold a more extravagant and lavish celebrations. We must not lose sight on the true purpose and meaning of Christmas.

Then, from our second reading, taken from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard of the words of the Apostle telling all the faithful people of God to be patient in waiting for the Lord, with two main contexts here to help us understand better why patience is important in this case. First of all, back at that time during the earliest days of the Church, there was a rather wide expectation by quite a number within the Church, even by St. Paul the Apostle as was evident within some of his Epistles that the second coming of the Lord and His return would be imminent, that it would happen within their lifetime. St. James essentially reminded the people of God of the reality that the Lord Jesus Himself said in the Gospels, that besides Him alone and the Father, no one else would know the exact time and moment of His coming.

In addition, the Lord Himself has also mentioned that although His coming is certain to come, but it will also not happen very soon or very immediate, lest His disciples think that it will happen immediately after He has ascended into Heaven, or that they become impatient in waiting for the Lord’s return. And this is important because the people of God at the time of the ministry of the Apostles, to whom St. James and the other Apostles had been ministering to, they were often facing lots of hardships, trials and challenges, rejections and persecutions from the authorities and the people around them, from the Jewish authorities and High Council, as well as from the pagans opposed to the inroads and efforts made by the Christian missionaries, and the Roman state itself, which began to carry out official persecutions against Christians at the time.

St. James the Apostle wants to remind us all the faithful people of God that while we may have to suffer in remaining faithful to God, but in the end, the Lord is always with us and we can expect joyfully and hopefully towards His coming and return into this world, which is sure to happen, and we ought to have faith and trust in Him, no matter what. This time and season of Advent we are constantly being reminded of this great Joy and all the Hope that we have in our Lord and Saviour, knowing that surely everything will happen as He has foretold and assured to us repeatedly again and again, and each and every one of us as Christians ought to always embody this Joy within us, the true Joy of Christmas that we can find in Christ alone.

Finally, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard about the moment when the Lord Jesus was confronted with some of the disciples of St. John the Baptist who brought upon Him a message from the man of God himself. This was some time after St. John the Baptist had baptised the Lord at the River Jordan at the beginning of His earthly ministry. In that occasion, we heard of how St. John the Baptist was also seeking reassurance from the Lord Himself, whether He was truly the One that he had been preparing the people for, the Messiah or Saviour of God. Back then, we must understand that St. John the Baptist had been facing rather intense challenges and persecutions from both the Jewish religious authorities as well as from the secular rulers like King Herod.

Therefore, it was kind of understandable that while St. John the Baptist was firm in his conviction and his efforts, he was having some doubts himself, while having that joyful expectation of having seen and witnessed the coming of God’s Saviour, the One Whom he himself had encountered and baptised at the River Jordan. Hence, the Lord reassured him through his disciples that He was indeed the One that he and the others had been long expecting, and this was followed by the Lord praising St. John the Baptist before His own disciples and followers, stating how he was indeed the greatest among all the children of mankind, although compared to the One Who came from the Kingdom of Heaven, the least of those who came from the Kingdom of Heaven was greater than St. John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptist was indeed the greatest of those born under the Old Testament and the old Law as the last and ‘seal of the Prophets’, because he alone among all of the Prophets came to witness the Lord and Saviour Himself, and actively worked to prepare His coming into this world. But with the coming of Christ, all of us have been made partakers of His truth and Good News, and we are reminded therefore of just fortunate and blessed all of us are because we have received the assurance and sure evidence of God’s ever enduring love and compassion, all of His kindness, grace and blessings which He has manifested to all of us through none other than Christ, His Beloved and only Begotten Son, born into this world to lead us all into salvation through Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect further from what we have heard and received from our Scripture passages today, we ought to remember again why we are preparing so thoroughly and carefully for the joyful celebration of Christmas. Let us ask ourselves once again why is it that we want to celebrate Christmas? What is it that we really want to celebrate in this festive season? Are we celebrating it for the merrymaking and all the worldly joy and pleasures? Or are we focusing on what is the true Joy of Christmas, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour and His coming into this world, as He manifested God’s ever enduring and most wonderful love for each and every one of us, making God’s Love tangible and accessible for all of us.

May the Lord, our Christmas Joy continue to bless us all and may He continue to guide each and every one of us so that we may continue to progress through this time and season of Advent with ever better appreciation and understanding of what it is that we really rejoice for in this upcoming time of Christmas. May God be with us always and may He empower us all in our respective journeys so that we will always be faithful and committed to live our lives most worthily as good and exemplary Christians, in showing the true Joy and spirit of Christmas to everyone we encounter during this time of Advent and the upcoming Christmas season. Amen.