Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 12, 2021

In the Gospel passage of last week, which was the Second Sunday of Advent, we read the following: 

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert” (Luke 3:1-2). 

After the word of God came to John, what did he do with it? He went throughout the whole region of Jordan preaching powerfully without fear a baptism of repentance. 

This Sunday, we continue to read Luke 3. Today’s passage says that upon hearing John’s message, his audience pleads, “What should we do?” His response is simple and direct: if you have two cloaks, give one to someone who has none. If you have food, share with those who have none. To tax collectors he says, stop cheating by taking more than what is due. To the soldiers, he urges, don’t engage in extortion. Be satisfied with with your earning. What’s John doing? He is calling for a change of heart, mind, life, attitude and lifestyle. He is calling for metanoia— conversion. On this third Sunday of Advent which is called Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, John the Baptist enjoins us to eliminate all things that alienate us from God, the source and cause of joy. The plan of God for us is to be joyful. As St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” Jesus comes to make us joyful people. The moral life begins with joy. God wants us to be happy. What makes us happy? God! How can we be truly happy? By surrendering our will, mind, heart, our entire life to God. Refusing to surrender to the grace of God can only lead to one thing, real sadness. God is the source of happiness. Detach from God and cling to substitutes— power, wealth, pleasure and honor, all you could have will be laughter without joy, excitement without fulfillment, success with deep emptiness. 

Let me give you a hint, when you find yourself depressed, useless, hopeless, desperate, don’t attempt to grab and fill yourself with material things. Rather perform a simple act of love, a simple act of caring for someone around you. What’s love? It is willing the good of the other, nothing grandiose. And believe me, you are surrounded by people you can love; people who need you in some way. When you find yourself sad, act. Be selfless. That’s where joy comes from. That’s where joy is. Remember the words of the Lord, “Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40). You are joyful in the measure that you forget about yourself and look to the other in love. Now, is this hard to do? Yes! But it is not that complicated to describe. 

In the second reading taken from Philippians 4:4-7, St. Paul says, “Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude.” Terrific words! What does Jesus say? Perfect love casts out all fear. The absence of love is not hate; the absence of love is fear. What does anxiety come from? It comes from a conviction that we are in charge of our own lives. Dismiss all anxiety from your lives. When you hand your life in love over to God, and tell God daily that he is the Lord of your life, joy will come. Remember this always, your life is not about you, rather about God. Allow God to run your life. It is in that moment and in that measure that we find joy. What makes God happy? When we find joy! God’s joy is that we share his life.