Third Sunday of Advent: Come, Lord Jesus!

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

he third Sunday of Advent was traditionally 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. In fact, joy is an integral aspect of the whole Advent season.

Advent is also a time for discipline and preparation, and these aspects are emphasized on the other Sundays. 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 two thousand years ago. And since Christ has already come and saved us, no one can take this joy away.

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 writer 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. With him as their leader, their true King, what have them 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 God rejoicing over the city with gladness and renewing her through his love.

The second reading is from Paul's letter to the early Christian community at Philippi (4:4-7), a thank-you note for gifts this community sent to him in prison in Ephesus. The section begins, "Rejoice! The Lord is near." By this Paul once again expresses the hope of early Christians that Jesus would come back again in their lifetime and then become the Messiah and inaugurate the kingdom of God. "The Lord is near" echoes the common prayer of the early church, "Come, Lord Jesus." 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.

The gospel reading (Luke 3:10-18) presents something found only in the gospel according to Luke: John the Baptist's social teaching. In the story, people of various employments ask John the Baptist what to do to prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God. He tells them to share their material possessions with one another. If they had two coats and there were people who had none, they should give one to someone who did not. And food likewise. He told tax collectors not to make excessive profits.

John's preaching concludes with the image of a winnowing fan, a wooden shovel used to separate the wheat from the chaff. This image calls us 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 the coming of Christ and his spirit into our hearts in a special way at Christmas, so that we may have a fuller share in his liberating salvation.

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