Homily for Gaudete Sunday

It gives me great joy to be with you on this Third Sunday in Advent, called “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete (G-A-U-D-E-T-E) is Latin for “Rejoice.” We rejoice because of the good news of the coming of our Savior. We light the pink candle in the Advent wreath and Father wears rose colored vestments because the pink and rose colors signify the JOY that should be in our hearts because the birth of our Savior is near. Advent reminds us of the good news of the coming of the Messiah. We celebrated His coming on that first Christmas, and we eagerly await His coming again. Our scripture passages this 3rd Sunday of Advent present wonderful themes of healing and hope. Jesus comes as a healer to make whole--and holy--the brokenness of every person. During Advent we recall the history of God's people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus. In today’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah describes the healing by the Messiah in terms that should stir our hearts: the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap and the mute will sing. In the second reading, James tells his listeners to “make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” In our Gospel today, John is now in prison, and he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the one who is to come, or should they look for another. Jesus doesn’t give a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Instead, He tells them: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” In other words, exactly what Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament was coming true before their very eyes through Jesus Christ! As John’s followers were leaving, Jesus spoke to the crowds about him, asking them: “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind...someone dressed in fine clothing...a prophet?” Jesus was trying to find out what the people expected to find when they went to the desert in search of John. Most assuredly, they did not go into the desert seeking a reed swayed by the wind—someone whose teaching would change seemingly as the wind changed direction. Nor did they go seeking someone dressed in fine clothing, like a person of royalty. They went seeking a prophet; but what kind? Scripture contains many prophets. The prophets were dynamic. They challenged people to listen, to change, and to follow. Some stood up to kings in support of justice, like Samuel; some were members of the king’s court, like Jeremiah; others were everyday people, like Amos, a trimmer of Sycamore trees. The prophets were different, one from the other, but their message was always the same: “Repent and Reform.” This was the message of John the Baptist in last week’s Gospel: Repent; the kingdom of heaven is at hand. John didn’t “bend” the truth or sugar-coat it. He didn’t tell people what he thought they wanted to hear. He didn’t go along with the morality-or immorality-of the day. John was not a reed shaken by the wind. He proclaimed the truth, and the truth didn’t change. The truth attracted people. His baptism was a baptism of repentance. The people who listened to his message, and who were willing to heed it, allowed themselves to be plunged into the Jordan River, determined to change their lives. But what about us today--What do we go out to the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Do we come to Church to receive a lovely emotional experience with a wink towards morality, a sort-of “implied permission” to follow the immorality of the day? Do we want our priests and deacons to proclaim a new morality, one which is not authentic, one that is more in tune with the moral relativism that is taking the world by storm? Do we come expecting to be given one set of standards, with the belief that, as society’s mores change, so will those of the Church? Or, do we come seeking a prophet? Do we come to Church...for the TRUTH; do we come seeking grace and the encouragement to stand up to the pressures of society; do we come to pray that Christ’s kingdom is indeed at hand and that we as Catholics have the courage of our convictions to live that kingdom here on earth—and to encourage others to do the same, in spite of the attacks we face on a daily basis. Now let me ask you an even harder question: Who do people come to you to see? You have members of your families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, who come to you with their questions. Are they coming to see a reed shaken by the wind? Are they coming to have someone validate their lifestyle—to tell them to “just be happy”? Or, are they seeking someone who is willing to tell the truth about the Lord and about his teachings, no matter the cost? Brothers and sisters, you are prophets. We all are. A prophet is someone who is committed to the truth of God. People come to us all, priests, deacons and parishioners, to hear the truth. People have a right to hear the truth. More importantly, Catholics have a responsibility to proclaim it. Why do people come to hear the truth? Because the truth is attractive. It leads us to a better understanding of who we are. It directs us to where we can find happiness. Truth is attractive because it sets us free to be whom God created us to be. This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday. It is the Sunday that we focus on the joy we have because the Lord came into the world that first Christmas and continues to come into our lives today. We love Him. We want to follow Him. And yes, that might mean going against what many say is the new way of life. In so doing, we may be denying our-selves the “pleasures of the day.” But we refuse to deny ourselves that which really matters: the Presence of God in our hearts and in our lives. The world needs prophets. The world needs people who will live the Truth of God as well as proclaim His Truth. We need prophets. And we need to be prophets for others. Our courage to live our faith will bring others to joy...to the Truth...to God. We pray today for the courage to live our faith, the courage to be prophets of the Truth, the courage to be prophets of the Lord.