3rd Sunday of Advent (B); December 17, 2023

Is 61:1-2a,10-11. Lk 1:46-50,53-54. 1 Thes 5:16-24. Jn 1:6-8,19-28

Deacon Jim McFadden

The human heart desires joy. We all want to be happy. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “Today is going to be a good day to be miserable!” So, what is the source of our joy? Simply put, joy is based in God, not what’s happening around you or what you have in your possession.

We hear this in our first reading when the prophet Isaiah says that joy is bestowed upon us. How so? Because “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me” (Is 61:1). His spirit is continually being bestowed upon us because our circumstances are continually changing. More to it, these anointings are direct encounters with the One True God. It’s like a spiritual law of physics: the closer we are to God, the more joyful we are. The French Jesuit, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put it this way: ”Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” Our hearts will burst with joy as we experience Jesus, who is God’s love incarnate. When we “move, live, and have our being” in Jesus, we are being linked to the power that intentionally creates and sustains the Universe.

Brothers and sisters, from the moment Jesus entered into our history just 2000+ years ago in the little town of Bethlehem, humanity received the seed of the Kingdom of God. We are the soil that has received the seed, which promises us an incredible harvest of eternal life. We don’t have to look further! We have everything we need to be happy right here and now, no matter what our circumstances are. And, when we dwell within Jesus– who is Life itself–we will be joyful to the very core of our being.

And, it can happen right now! This is not a hopeful aspiration that someday up the road I’ll be happy or I’ll eventually obtain it when I enter Paradise. Those attitudes imply that life here on earth is drudgery and a hard slog through the muck. If I can just gut it out, just get through this sad existence which Thomas Hobbes called “short, painful, and brutish”, then joy awaits me after I die. No, that is not it! Advent is not celebrating a postponed joy, but a joy that is already real—right here, right now! It is tangible, it is available now because Jesus, Who is I AM incarnate, is our joy, and He is with us always.

As baptized Christians, as daughters and sons of Holy Mother the Church, we are called upon to accept anew the presence of God among us and to share Him with others.  You see, our Catholic faith is not primarily about doctrines, rules, or commandments, but is about a Person—Jesus!  And, like modern day John the Baptists, our heavenly Father is depending upon us to direct people to His beloved Son, Jesus, who is the Alpha and Omega: he is the firstborn of all Creation and he is our destination to whom our hearts naturally gravitate when we seek joy and happiness.

So, we are meant to be missionaries of joy. As Pope Francis reminds us, being a grouchy, disconsolate Christian is an oxymoron! In other words, we can’t give what we don’t have. St. Paul in his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians lays out the conditions for being a joyful missionary: (1) praying constantly—Our whole life should be a prayer. As St. Therese of Lisieux put it, “For me, prayer is the surge of the heart; it is  a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition of love, embracing both trial and joy” (Manuscripts autobiographiques, C25r). “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will  of God for you in  Christ Jesus“

 (1 Thes 5:18). When you get to a certain age, the only thing that should come out of your mouth, should be: THANK YOU! Give thanks for everything you are and everything you have. The more grateful you are, the happier you will be.

And, at the same time, we have to be vigilant. As Paul reminds us, “Refrain from every kind of evil” (v. 22). While we are all sinners, we don’t want to identify with our sin, which is corruptive. How do we avoid evil that surrounds and influences us? As St. Augustine reminds us, we’re absolutely dependent upon God’s grace and mercy. Without his grace, we can’t do one good thing.

If we live this way, then the Good News will be able to enter our hearts so that others can rediscover that Jesus is Immanuel, God among us; that he is the sole and universal Savior of the world.

People of God, at our baptism we were anointed; we’ve been given a Mission to bring the Good News to others. Specifically, to whom? The answer is simple—to those in need. Again, from Isaiah we heard that the anointed are sent “To the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are  bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Is 61:1-2).

This was the vocation of Christ Jesus and it is our vocation as well because we are members of his mystical Body, the Church. We have the same Mission as our Lord Jesus. So, we go to others, to those in need, whether their needs be material, psychological, or spiritual. So many people are trapped in anxiety, resentment, and fear which explains why there is so much dissension and polarization in our country.  This is no way to live. But, as we experience the joy of Jesus, we can bring peace to those who are hurting; we bring the Good News of Jesus to them; we can bring the balm of his merciful love and forgiveness to them which can release them from their bondage.

So, in order for us to experience joy in preparation of Christmas, let us bear witness that Jesus is not a person of the past. Rather, he is I AM incarnate —he is eternally present! As the Word of God, he is the one who illuminates the Way home. He speaks to us directly through Scripture and Tradition which enables us to enter into God’s consciousness so that we can think and act as God does. He touches us through the concrete gestures of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, which are manifestations of his tenderness, consolation, and love that our Father bears for every human being. He is ever present to us in the most intimate way. He liberates us, so we will be free and joyful and share that joy with others.

The promises of Advent are fully realized in the Blessed Virgin Mary, who silently waited for God’s Word of salvation; she welcomed it; she listened to it; she conceived it.  In her, God became close.  This is why the Church calls Mary a “Cause of our joy.”  Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. “Joy is the most infallible sign of God’s presence,” Fr. Teilhard de Chardin.  How does that resonate with you?

• Do you believe that you have everything you need to be happy right here and now.  If you’re not happy, why not?

• A baptized Catholic is called to be a joyful missionary.  In your daily life are you striving to bring Jesus to others?