Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 13, 2020 - 3rd Sunday of Advent - B
[Isa 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thess 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28]In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it. [1 Thessalonians] I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice.....[Isaiah]
The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as "Laetare" Sunday, from the Latin word that means "rejoice!" (Lent has its own version under another Latin word with the same meaning, "gaudete.") The observance is meant to create a kind of pause in the preparation to remind oneself of the "reason for the season." I have often likened it to the child who happily recognizes that even if it is still wrapped under the Christmas tree, the box is the right size for the desired toy!
The scriptures for today cover a wide range of expectations. The first scripture from Isaiah is echoed later in the Magnificat of Mary and in Jesus' inaugural appearance in Nazareth. It expresses the hope of deliverance by a wise and compassionate messiah. The gospel scripture is aimed at making sure John the Baptist is not confused with Jesus as messiah! Those two scriptures speak of Jesus' FIRST coming. The scripture from St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians aims at Jesus SECOND coming. Our own situation is the "in between" time, between the "tick" and the "tock" of God's plan of salvation, as it were.
No matter which "coming" we celebrate today, it is the same person whose life, death and resurrection gives us hope. Whether it be the small baby in a manger or the adult Jesus on the cross or the glorious risen Christ at Easter, the person is the same. He is the "reason for the season" and a reason to be joyful, even in our current difficult time of pandemic! AMEN