The daily Word of God
Sunday, December 15th, 2024
3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete)
Luke 3:10-18 "I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals."
First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you
he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to 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.
Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6.
R./ Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R./ Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R./ Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R./ Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
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.
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:10-18
The crowds asked John the Baptist,
"What should we do?"
He said to them in reply,
"Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise."
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
"Teacher, what should we do?"
He answered them,
"Stop collecting more than what is prescribed."
Soldiers also asked him,
"And what is it that we should do?"
He told them,
"Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages."
Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.
What should we do?
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and good.
It is getting closer. Christmas is approaching. We begin the third week of Advent. It is “Gaudete”, “Rejoice” Sunday. The readings repeat it to us, so that we do not forget it. That we are given to sadness, especially in winter.
Last week the Baptist spoke in general of repentance for sins and conversion to a new life. Without giving precise instructions, only in general. Today it is more concrete. Let’s get down to it.
The first reading is a plea for divine mercy. A good reason to rejoice is that God is always merciful. The Lord has reversed your sentence, the prophet Zephaniah tells us. The time in which he lived was not too good. The situation was catastrophic, but, as a true prophet, he knew how to see the light in the midst of the darkness, and he was able to perceive the presence of God in the midst of the people.
A detail that Zephaniah emphasizes is that God’s anger is not against the sinner, but against sin. With people, God only performs works of salvation. He does not punish. For that reason, everyone can rejoice, there is no reason to be afraid. It is the same scheme that the evangelist Luke repeats with the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary: “rejoice”, “do not be afraid”, “the Lord is with you”. And, with Mary, our Mother, we can all rejoice.
The first verse of today’s excerpt from St. Paul’s letter was used by my companions and me in our ordination reminder. We wanted to remember just that, that we should always be joyful. I don’t know if we have always succeeded, but what I do know is that knowing that the Lord is near is a good help in life. It is not essential to have many successes in life, or iron health, or many material things. Nor does it mean living free of worries (the Philippians, like Paul, had the same problems as us, if not more). Faith gives the certainty that everything that happens is part of God’s plan and, therefore, everything will end well. As it should be. As God wants it to be. With great peace. In spite of everything.
And to collaborate in this plan, what can we do at this moment? How can we convert ourselves, to give those “fruits” of which the Baptist speaks? And “fruits”, in plural, to demonstrate that the conversion is true. We need to put our heads and hearts in order to be able to react.
The first thing the Baptist asks is to relativize material goods. For God to enter our life, we must make room for him. We know that material things are important, but we must put them in their place.
It seems important to me to recall a quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, specifically number 2446: St. John Chrysostom forcefully reminds us: “Not to share one’s goods with the poor is to rob them and take away their life; […] what we possess are not our goods, but theirs” (In Lazarum, Concio 2, 6). It is necessary “to satisfy first of all the demands of justice, so that we do not offer as charitable assistance what is already owed as a matter of justice” (AA 8): “When we give to the poor the things they need, we do not do them personal liberality, but we give back to them what is theirs. Rather than performing an act of charity, what we are doing is fulfilling a duty of justice” (St. Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, 3, 21, 45).
This is a good way to review the “sins of omission”. If someone passes in need near me, and I look away, I am not doing the good I should be doing. It can be a good resolution for this Advent, giving out “my robes”, trying to do the good that, on other occasions, I have failed to do.
The second thing the Baptist points to in his exhortation on the banks of the Jordan is how to fulfill our obligations. He does not tell the tax collectors and soldiers to go into the desert, or to adopt the monastic or priestly life. He tells them that they can do their work in another way, with more responsibility, and by being righteous. It is advice that comes in handy also on our Advent journey.
Everything we do, whether at home, in the office, at school or at university, can be done in many ways. The least that can be asked of us is that we do it responsibly – our obligation as individuals – but, as Christians, we can be asked to do more. Things that are not included in the contract, such as smiling, kindness, empathy… In order to be able to receive the coming Child God, being attentive to our brothers and sisters is the best way.
John also warns us of the danger of abuse of power, of taking advantage of a position of strength. It can be a position of superiority caused by the difference in the social scale, in education, it can be because of the hierarchy at work… We do not have swords like soldiers, but sometimes words “kill”. In order for Christ to enter our life, we must be in a way that we can be
Alejandro Carbajo, C.M.F.Greetings
There is no need to worry,
for the Lord wants you to be happy,
and he is near to you.
May his peace and joy be with you always.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A. Called To Joy
On this Third Sunday of Advent the liturgy speaks to us, people who are too often so sad, of God as the Lord of the dance: the Lord is happy to come among us: he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival. It is a feast for the Lord to be with us. Is it a feast for us too? Let us open ourselves to the joy of the coming and lasting presence among us of the Lord himself. He comes to us with his peace, his love, and his forgiveness, not only on the great feast of Christmas but in every Eucharist and every day when we are willing to make God's love and peace grow in us and in our world. Lord, we are happy that you are here among us.
B. Begin In A Small Way
When the task to carry out what we ought to do certainly exceeds our potentials, what can we do about it? When the problem is too large for us to handle— like injustice and violence in the world, the lack of love, the disunity among people—what is there that we little people can do? We can begin by acting responsibly in our own little corner, with the people around us and by doing well what we have to do. This is John the Baptist's advice to those who come to him for conversion. This is what they have to do to hasten the coming of the Savior. This is perhaps all we can do to bring Christ today in our world.
Penitential Act
The Lord's joy becomes tangible for us
also when he can reconcile us with himself
in the pardon he offers us all the time.
(pause)
- Lord Jesus, you are a God near to us and so we dare to say: Keep us in your love. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
- Jesus Christ, with you near to us we have no more evil to fear. Keep us in your joy: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
- Lord Jesus, you ask us to be happy and no longer to worry, for you are near. Keep us in your peace. Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
God among us, heal us from the fears caused by sin and bring us the joy of your forgiveness. Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
A. Called To Joy
Let us pray that we may welcome with joy
Christ and his Good News
(pause)
God, source of all happiness,
your Son Jesus Christ brought to us and to all
glad tidings of your pardon and life.
Our hearts remain restless
until they find rest and peace in you.
Let your joy be our joy,
your love be our love,
your acceptance of us be our welcome
to all our brothers and sisters.
With Jesus in our midst,
may our communities be happy
and be a foretaste, even in trials,
of the lasting joy you have prepared for us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
B. Begin In A Small Way
Let us pray for the courage
to do well what we have to do in life
(pause)
Our faithful God,
give us the courage to welcome your Son
by sharing what we have,
doing well what is right and just,
and spreading peace.
Let your Son Jesus baptize us
with the Holy Spirit and fire,
that he may renew us by his love
and let our hearts overflow with joy
because Jesus is alive among us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: The Lord Will Come In Your Midst
To a people surrounded by enemies the prophet announces: the Lord will forgive you and bring you joy. He will live among you and renew you by his love.
Second Reading Introduction: Rejoice, The Lord Is Near!
Christians should always be joyful people, says St Paul. Their joy must be contagious, for the Lord is always near to them.
Gospel Introduction: Concrete Actions!
We wait and prepare for the coming of the Lord by doing well the everyday things that our calling demands, particularly with regard to others.
General Intercessions
If there is too little joy among us, it is perhaps because we are not Christian enough. Let us pray to the God of joy that we may always live in his peace and joy, and let us say: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
- For the Church, that it may always proclaim the Gospel as good tidings of great joy, as a message of liberation and hope for all, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
- For today's cold world of management and production, with its manipulation and injustice, that it may again pay attention to people and regain a sense of joy and celebration, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
- For the poor and those who suffer, that we may give them not only what they need but bring them the warmth of our love and the joy of hope, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
- For Christians everywhere, that we may learn to keep our serenity in the trials that are part of life and that we may see the relative value of things, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
- And for all of us, that we may have a sense of humor that can laugh at our own expense and a sense of gratuitousness that can do things for free and out of pure joy, let us pray: R/ Lord, you are all our joy.
Lord our God, you have brought us freedom through Jesus your Son. May we live in your hands as free people and people of great joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, God of life and happiness,
your Son Jesus won the joy of his resurrection
through painful suffering and death.
With him we want to accept tensions and pain
without losing our inner peace,
to possess without attachment
and to love without complete fulfillment,
to cherish ourselves without deserting others,
to work for the future without reaping results
and to encounter Christ,
without knowing him fully.
Let this be our offering to you
that brings us your joy for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord Jesus is very near to us here in this Eucharist. Let us pray and offer with him that he may also be close to us in people and in the life of every day.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
With the fullest trust and joy
let us pray to our Father in heaven
in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and grant us your peace in our day.
Keep us free from worrying about the future
and give us each day
a fresh provision of joy.
Help us to do well the task
you have assigned to us in life
and to spread happiness,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is the Lord who said:
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You are sad now
but I shall see you again
and then your hearts will be full of joy.
No one shall take that joy away from you.
Happy are we to be invited
to the Lord's meal of joy.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
you have refreshed our hope and joy
in this holy meal with your Son.
Help us to seek joy and happiness
not in personal contentment nor in things
but in people and in you,
in human kindness and in sharing,
and in doing all things well.
Make our every day new and worth living
through the presence among us
of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We have our share of cares and worries
just like anyone else.
Yet, on account of our trust in God
and the quiet assurance
that the Lord is ever near to us,
we keep our serenity and joy.
Let your Christian joy be contagious,
with the blessing of Almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the hope and joy of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
