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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the third one in this time and season of Advent, we commemorate the occasion of the Gaudete Sunday, an occasion of joy and rejoicing during this mostly penitential and more sombre season of Advent as we remember that this Advent season is ultimately a time of preparation for the coming of our true joy in Christ which we will soon celebrate in Christmas. This Sunday we focus on the theme and aspect of Joy in Advent, continuing on from the themes of Hope and Peace that we have focused on in the previous Sundays of Advent. And the name for this Sunday, ‘Gaudete’ itself means ‘joy’ or ‘rejoice’, from the beginning of the Introit of this Sunday, ‘Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete.’ which means ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.’

On this Sunday we briefly enter a pause in the penitential and sombre nature of this time of Advent preparations to focus on the Joy that we are expecting to come in the soon to come time and season of Christmas. That is why we remind ourselves today of the great Joy that is found in Christmas and which we all celebrate most wonderfully, and the very reason for this great Joy is none other than Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God and the One Whom God had sent into this world, Incarnate in the flesh, the Love of God manifested before us and making us all able to come towards Him, tangible and approachable, no longer distant and unimaginable for us. Through Christ His Son, Our Lord has given us all the One through Whom our Joy and Hope will be restored to us.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah in which the words of joy and the promise of God’s guidance and presence among His people, strengthening and reassuring them all that God has always loved them and cared for them despite their constant rebelliousness and stubborn attitudes. God has always watched over them, His beloved ones, ever so patiently, caring for their needs and guiding them patiently through His prophets and messengers. He chastised and disciplined them whenever they were wayward and wicked in their ways, but He also nurtured and cared for them along their journey, like that of a loving Father Who is both stern and loving to His children, wanting them all to turn out good and worthy, and not be corrupted by the evils around us.

Then, from our second reading passage this Sunday taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Philippi, we are yet again reminded of God’s most generous love and how fortunate and blessed each and every one of us have been because our Lord and our Father has always loved us and how He has always had us all in His mind at all times, being ever present all around us, knowing all of our needs and wishes, and He has always been ready to walk this journey we have, each and every one of us, together with Him. Thus, it is imperative that all of us should respond to His love with gratitude and appreciation, and most importantly with love and rejoicing towards Him, to the Joy that He has brought upon us once again through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Lastly, from the Gospel passage this Sunday, we are reminded by the words of St. John the Baptist who spoke clearly about the Messiah Who was to come at that time, and how that faithful servant of God proclaimed Him to all the people who had come to him to listen to him and to be baptised by him. St. John the Baptist was indeed very popular and he had a lot of following among the people, who came to him likely in their hundreds and even perhaps thousands, seeking his baptism and seeking in him the hope of God’s long awaited salvation. But St. John the Baptist made it clear to the people that he was not the one who would save Israel, as he was merely just the one to herald and prepare the coming of the true Messiah or Saviour, Jesus Christ.

St. John the Baptist had shown great humility in obeying the commands which He had received from the Lord, refusing to be swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, all the things which had led so many people, our predecessors and we ourselves to our downfall. It is easy for one to be swayed and tempted by great popularity and acclamation, such as in the case of St. John the Baptist, but the man of God continued to have strong faith and commitment to God, and he remained focused on what he was tasked to do, that is to prepare the way for the Lord and His coming, and to direct all of us to Him, to the One Who is our Light, Hope and Salvation. And we all should be inspired by his great faith, humility and examples, his commitment and dedication  to his mission.

As Christians, it is important that we also show this true focus of Christmas in Our Lord and Saviour to everyone. Indeed, in our world today, Christmas is often no longer about Christ but rather about excesses of worldly comforts, pleasures and commercialisation which had made many people to forget about what Christmas is truly all about. In many cases, our Christmas celebrations end up becoming yet just another holiday time and season, a time for rejoicing and celebrations that is yet bereft of its true purpose and reason for celebration, because Christ is not in all those celebrations and rejoicing. Often we can see how people compete with one another in how glamorous they can celebrate their Christmas, or compare the gifts that they had received at Christmas. And no one remembered the greatest gift of Christmas they had received, that is Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Therefore, as Christians, we are all challenged to put Christ at the centre of our Christmas celebrations and rejoicing. We should not give in to the temptations and false pleasures of the world, all the excessive commercialisation of Christmas that do not lead us to Christ. Each one of us are called to proclaim Christ, Our Lord, the true reason for our rejoicing at Christmas, and let it show through our preparations and our constant focus on Christ as the One in Whom we rejoice, and in all the happiness that we share with one another, let it be the love of God and the genuine love for one another that we show in our Christmas joy and festivities, and be the beacons of God’s Light, Hope and Love for everyone around us. Let our joy be shared with everyone and let us all remember those who are not able to rejoice the way we do, and continue to direct all people to Christ, His Hope and salvation, now and always. Amen.