An Extraordinary News
Third Advent Sunday
Is 61, 1-2a, 10-11; Lq 1, 46-50, 53-54; 1 Tess 5, 16-24; Jn 1, 6-8, 19-28
We’re midway in our preparation for Christmas. Traditionally, the Third Sunday of Advent is called ‘The Sunday of Joy’. The reason is that in the liturgical readings which the Church proclaims on this Sunday, the dominating theme stresses the joy that Jesus’ coming is just round the corner! Indeed, these readings answer the question: Who will bring us the Good News? To this question, we have three answers which reveal the identity of this Promised Messiah: (i) The Messiah who is the Good News itself; (ii) the Messiah who will bring with him the promised gifts and (iii) the need to be cautious against all that can oppose our openness to the Spirit which the Messiah wants to confer to us. Delving deeper into each of these answers might produce noteworthy results.
In the text from Isaiah, the Messiah is described as filled with the Holy Spirit and with prophetic power. It is the Messiah who will fulfill the promises made by God in this time of joy and gladness. His mission is precisely the task which God entrusted in his hands, namely, to help people turn back to the ways of justice instead of clinging to powerful positions and dominating attitudes.
This presence of the Messiah in the lives of the people is a transforming presence. Indeed, Isaiah states that the Messiah was to be the one who consoles the broken hearted, who proclaims the good news to those who want to hear an encouraging word, who gives freedom to those held captive in sin, who proclaims the grace of the Lord.
In front of all this, as Saint Paul tells us, our attitude must be one of continuous gratitude and prayer. In other words, these gifts with which the Messiah wants to fill our lives, can only be received by us if we open our hearts to them. Nevertheless, Paul also cautions us against illusions and evil: “Test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
Advent is a time wherein the Church invites us to enter into the desert, the place where the necessary transformation can take place. It is in the desert where I can really learn how to depend totally on Christ, where I can learn how to be open to the Holy Spirit who wants to make me a new man in the coming feasts. Surely this is extraordinary news! It is a news that makes us recall that Christ is with us with every step we take, without ever forgetting us!
Is 61, 1-2a, 10-11; Lq 1, 46-50, 53-54; 1 Tess 5, 16-24; Jn 1, 6-8, 19-28
We’re midway in our preparation for Christmas. Traditionally, the Third Sunday of Advent is called ‘The Sunday of Joy’. The reason is that in the liturgical readings which the Church proclaims on this Sunday, the dominating theme stresses the joy that Jesus’ coming is just round the corner! Indeed, these readings answer the question: Who will bring us the Good News? To this question, we have three answers which reveal the identity of this Promised Messiah: (i) The Messiah who is the Good News itself; (ii) the Messiah who will bring with him the promised gifts and (iii) the need to be cautious against all that can oppose our openness to the Spirit which the Messiah wants to confer to us. Delving deeper into each of these answers might produce noteworthy results.
In the text from Isaiah, the Messiah is described as filled with the Holy Spirit and with prophetic power. It is the Messiah who will fulfill the promises made by God in this time of joy and gladness. His mission is precisely the task which God entrusted in his hands, namely, to help people turn back to the ways of justice instead of clinging to powerful positions and dominating attitudes.
This presence of the Messiah in the lives of the people is a transforming presence. Indeed, Isaiah states that the Messiah was to be the one who consoles the broken hearted, who proclaims the good news to those who want to hear an encouraging word, who gives freedom to those held captive in sin, who proclaims the grace of the Lord.
In front of all this, as Saint Paul tells us, our attitude must be one of continuous gratitude and prayer. In other words, these gifts with which the Messiah wants to fill our lives, can only be received by us if we open our hearts to them. Nevertheless, Paul also cautions us against illusions and evil: “Test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
Advent is a time wherein the Church invites us to enter into the desert, the place where the necessary transformation can take place. It is in the desert where I can really learn how to depend totally on Christ, where I can learn how to be open to the Holy Spirit who wants to make me a new man in the coming feasts. Surely this is extraordinary news! It is a news that makes us recall that Christ is with us with every step we take, without ever forgetting us!
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