Gospel Reflection for Sunday December 15th 2019 The 3rd Sunday of Advent Gaudete Sunday
Look, our God is coming to save us.
There is one pink candle on the Advent Wreath which is lit today because this is Gaudete Sunday. The word ‘Guadete’ means joy or rejoice. The opening antiphon for today mass gives us the message of our liturgy; ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. The Lord is near.’
As we take another step closer to our Christmas celebrations, there are signs of this all around us. The shops and streets are filled with more people and we are busier as we have more to do in our homes. But we are also asked to notice and pay attention to the Advent signs and symbols around us. The Wreath in our church is getting brighter as another candle is lit, making it glow brighter. Perhaps there is now a crib or manger in your church or you may even have put out a small one in your home. All these wonderful life-giving signs and symbols point and lead us to great event of Christmas. This is the real source of our happiness, joy and celebrations. Today we are called to hear and really listen to the message from the Prophet Isaiah; they are as radical and relevant now as when they were first spoken; ‘Courage, do not be afraid; look, your God is coming, the Lord is coming to save you.’ On this third Sunday of Advent, let us take these words to heart; God is coming to save us.
We all know that these remaining days before can be so busy, hectic and so full of activity. It can happen that when Christmas Day arrives, we are just so tired from all that we have done. Perhaps we could set a little time aside each day for a few minutes of prayer, stillness and silence – even ten minutes would be very beneficial to our health at all levels. This might help us to slow down and remember what we are actually getting ready to celebrate.
The radio, television and all the magazines have been saying to us for the last few weeks, It’s Christmas! It’s not – not yet. We still have a week or more to go. The second reading from today’s mass from St. James offers us another message to go along with all the shopping and buying we are currently doing; Be patient until the Lord’s coming; do not lose heart because the Lord’s coming is very soon. This is not easy for us at any time, but particularly at this time of the year when we feel pressured to buy so much, get so much done and leave nothing to chance. We just need to be careful that in the midst of all the activity we don’t lose sight of what these Advent days are really all about;
Rejoice in the Lord always; the Lord is near.
Courage, do not be afraid, look, our God is coming to save us.
-Br Michael Moore OMI
Gospel for Sunday December 15th : Matthew ©
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