GOSPEL: Matthew 11:2-11
Dear friends,
Traditionally this Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for joy, and it is a day for rejoicing. The Advent mood undergoes a dramatic change today. We hear of deserts blossoming, the seas exulting, and the trees of the field clapping their hands, so that if there were one word to capture the new mood, it would have to be joy! As we light our candles, we can boldly proclaim our joy in our words, and in our prayers, and in our songs. Christmas is almost here, and we are joyful.
But perhaps some of you don’t feel like rejoicing. Perhaps your own mood is more like the rest of Advent; darker, more anxious, and somewhat unsettled, for any number of reasons. With all the difficulties in the world, we can easily wonder if the coming of Jesus has had much impact. Because God is a lover and invites us to love him in return. The Christmas story is, above all, a love story. It is all about the love God has for us. This is the God who heals and saves, the God who gives meaning and hope to the downcast and new life to the dead. This is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, the God worth waiting for, and working for, and praying to and rejoicing with.
Matthew goes further and challenges us to show to others the impact of our experience with the Lord. The ways that our lives reflect the Gospel message speaks volumes to the world about the ways the Lord is here now in our lives. We can demonstrate who we are waiting for during Advent by the actions we do in Jesus’ name; feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, educating the needy, and so on. In the most personal way, we can be contagious in our rejoicing this day in our Advent expectation by encouraging each other with our joy, because “God loves a cheerful giver.” Look around you and see the presence of God despite the difficulty you are in. Look around you and see the blind seeing again, the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead being raised to life. Let us make Christ present in our lives by loving one another unconditionally (CARITAS) as we await for his coming with joy.
God Bless,
Rev. Father Frank Kyazze
