Excerpted from an article by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio
3rd Sunday of Advent, Dec. 16, 2018
On the third Sunday of Advent… we celebrate “Gaudete” or
“Rejoice!” Sunday. “Shout for joy, daughter of Sion” says Zephaniah. “Draw water joyfully from the font of
salvation,” says Isaiah. “Rejoice in the
Lord always,” says St. Paul. “Do penance
for the judge is coming,” says John the Baptist…
Wait a minute! What’s
that stark, strident saint of the desert doing here, on “Rejoice Sunday”? His stern call to repentance does not seem to
fit.
Believe it or not, John the Baptist is the patron saint of
spiritual joy. After all, he leapt for
joy in his mother’s womb at the presence of Jesus and Mary (Luke 1:44). And it says that he rejoices to hear the
bridegroom’s voice (John 3:29-30).
Now this is very interesting. Crowds were coming to hear John from all over
Israel before anyone even heard a peep out of the carpenter from Nazareth. In fact, John even baptized his cousin. This launched the Lord’s public ministry,
heralding the demise of John’s career…
Most of us would not appreciate the competition… But John
actually encouraged his disciples to leave him for Jesus, the Lamb of God. When
people came, ready to honor John as the Messiah, he set them straight… to use
John’s own example, he was like the best man at a wedding. It certainly is an
honor to be chosen as “best man.” But the best man does not get the bride… the
best man’s role was to bring the bride to the bridegroom, and then make a
tactful exit. And John found joy in this.
“My joy is now full. He must
increase and I must decrease.”
The Baptist was joyful because he was humble… The humble man
does not sheepishly look down on himself.
Actually, he does not look at himself at all. He looks away from himself
to the Lord.
Humility brings freedom… Freed from the blinding compulsion
to dominate, we can recognize the presence of God and …recognize godliness in
someone else and rejoice when others notice and honor this person.
But what about John’s stark call to repentance? How this be Good News? Because repentance is
all about humility and humility is all about freedom. And freedom leads to
inner peace and joy, joy in the presence of the Bridegroom.
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