First Sunday of Advent: A New Age - CUA Office of Public Affairs

Third Sunday of Advent: The Lord is Near

By the Rev. Francis T. Gignac, S.J.

December 17, 2000

A common denominator of the readings in today's liturgy is that they all seem to be addressed directly to people like us.

The Gospel reading (Luke 3:10-18) gives us a perspective found only in this Gospel - John the Baptist's social teaching. In this passage, ordinary people ask John the Baptist what to do to prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God, the time when God was expected to intervene decisively in human history, defeat the forces of evil and establish his will as sovereign and supreme.

John's answers were straightforward. He told them to share their material possessions with one another. Jews believed everything they had was God's gift; they had no absolute rights to property. If a Jew had two coats and there was a person who had none, he or she was obligated to give one coat to someone who did not have one. They applied the same rationale to sharing food. What a lesson there is for us in this!

John the Baptist told the tax collectors not to make excessive profits. In those days of the Roman Empire, there was no centralized tax system like the IRS. Collection of taxes was let out to the highest bidder, who had to turn in a certain amount of money to the government, but he could keep for himself whatever he could gouge out of people over and above that amount. To help him collect his taxes and especially his profits, the average tax collector used "exactors." These exactors were the soldiers referred to in today's Gospel reading. They were not in any army; they were hit men hired by the hated and feared tax collector. John's message for them was, "Don't practice extortion." The author does not ask of these men any high mysticism, only human decency. Perhaps there is another lesson in this for us.

The author then presents the Baptist's preaching. One "mightier than he" will come to baptize the people with "a holy spirit" and "fire." The author here uses metaphors to describe Jesus as the great liberator in the war against evil. Throughout the Bible, momentous events in human history are looked upon as signs of the presence of God's spirit, i.e., God's life-giving power. And fire is a symbol of God communicating with people, appearing to them, as in the story of the burning bush at Sinai that was not consumed because the fire was only figurative. God also comes in "fire" to judge, i.e., to fulfill his promises to his faithful people and to remove evil from their midst.

The author adds that his winnowing fan is already in his hands. A winnowing fan was a wooden shovel a Palestinian farmer used to toss the crushed stalks of wheat into the air. The heavier grain fell quickly to the ground, while the lighter chaff was blown by the wind to the edge of the threshing area, where it was gathered and later burned. This image calls the reader to purification and preparation. May we be the wheat and not the chaff when judgment comes! Yet it is not a call to fear, for Jesus has already come and saved us. It is a call to joyful and peaceful preparation for a fuller share in his liberating salvation.

The first reading is found in the book of Zephaniah (3:14-18) but is not an oracle of that fifth-century prophet. It is a psalm added by a later editor, a joyful song in honor of Zion, the holy mountain in Jerusalem on which the Temple was built. The anonymous songwriter calls upon the people of Israel to shout and sing for joy, to be glad with all their heart, because salvation has come to them. Yahweh, their God, has removed the judgment against them and turned back their enemies. With him as their leader, their true king, what have they to fear?

The writer goes on to an even more daring metaphor. Not only will God be the leader of Israel's armies; he will feel toward his own city, Jerusalem, as a bridegroom feels for his bride! In words reminiscent of the prophet Hosea, who first portrayed God's love for his people through the metaphor of a marriage covenant and the love of husband and wife, he pictures Yahweh rejoicing over his city with gladness and renewing her through his love. And when Yahweh comes to his city, everyone will attend him with gladness and love, with joyful shouts and dancing, as on great feast days.

Today's second reading comes from nearly the end of Paul's letter to the early Christian community at Philippi (4:4-7). The letter is a thank-you note for gifts that this community sent to him when he was in prison in Ephesus about A.D. 56. This section begins with the proclamation, "Rejoice! The Lord is near." By this, Paul expresses his hope once again of an imminent second coming of Christ. The early Christians expected Jesus to come back again in their lifetime and then become the Messiah and inaugurate the kingdom of God (Acts 3:20-21).

This phrase, "The Lord is near," echoes in another form a common prayer of the early Church that is found elsewhere in Paul's letters and at the very end of the book of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus," or in its original Aramaic, "Marana, tha." This is a prayer that could very well be on our lips and in our hearts as we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

This third Sunday of Advent used to be called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word for "rejoice," the first word of the entrance antiphon, taken from today's second reading. Joy is the theme of the liturgy today. Advent is a time for discipline and preparation. But we are not just preparing to receive Christ into our hearts at Christmas; we are not just preparing to meet him when he comes to welcome us into God's presence; we are also preparing ourselves to celebrate his birth a little more than 2,000 years ago. And since Christ has already come and saved us, no one can take this joy away.

The Rev. Francis T. Gignac, S.J., is a professor and chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. A photo is available.

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Revised: February 13, 2001