HOMILY FOR 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT IN YEAR B


1. Is 61: 1-2,10-11
2.1Thes 5:16-24
Gospel: Jn 1:6-8,19-28

                  
                      " The Lord is in our midst"


It was once discovered that in a certain monastery monks were passing through a crisis. Some of the monks left, no new candidates joined them, and people were no longer coming for prayer and consultation as they used to do.  The few monks that remained were becoming older and depressed and bitter in their relationship with one another. The abbot heard about a holy man, a hermit living alone in the woods and decided to consult him. He told the hermit how the monastery had dwindled and diminished and now looks like a skeleton of what used to be. Only seven old monks remained. The hermit told the abbot that he has a secret for him. One of the monks now living in his monastery is actually the Messiah but he is living in such a way that no one could recognize him.


With this revelation the abbot goes back to his monastery, summons a community meeting  and recounts what the holy hermit told him that one of them is the Messiah. The aging monks look at other in unbelief, trying to discern who among them could be the Christ. Could it be Brother Paul who prays at all time? But he has this holler-than-thou attitude towards others. Could it be Brother John who is always ready to help? But he is always eating and drinking and cannot fast. The abbot reminded them that the Messiah has adopted some bad habits as a way of camouflaging his real identity this only made them more confused and they could not make a headway figuring out who was the Christ among them. At the end of the meeting  what each one of the monks knew for sure was that any of the monks, excepting himself could be the Christ.


From that day, however the monks began to treat one another with great respect and humility, knowing that the person they are speaking to could be the very Christ. They began to show more love for one another their common life became more brotherly and their common prayer more fervent. Slowly people began to take notice of the new spirit in the monastery and began coming back for retreats and spiritual directions. Word began to spread and, before they knew it, candidates began to show up and the monastery began to grow in number as the monks grew in zeal and holiness. All this happened because the man of God drew their attention to the truth that Christ was living in their midst as one of them.

In today's gospel John the Baptist tries to announce the same powerful message to the Jews of His time who were anxiously waiting for the coming  of the Messiah. John tells them: " Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal" ( John 1:26-27).


Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord: His coming to us sacramentally at Christmas, His coming  to us individually at the end of our lives and His coming  to us collectively at the end of time. That's why in the first Sunday of Advent, we talked about the preparation by being watchful because we do not know when Christ will come again. In other words, the key word in this First Sunday of Advent was the word W-A-T-C-H. Let us watch our Words, Actions, Thoughts, Character and Heart. In the second Sunday, we also talked about how to prepare and be watchful and that is preparing the way of the Lord by way of repentance. And today's Third Sunday of Advent let us talk about Christ's coming or His presence among us especially nowadays.


The reason why, nowadays, we could not recognize Jesus as our Lord and Messiah, it is because like the Jews in Jesus' time, we have definite ideas on how the Messiah was going to come. For the Jews, Messiah would suddenly descend from heaven in His divine power and majesty and establish His reign by destroying  the enemies of Israel.  No one would know where he came from, humanly speaking, because he came from God ( John 7:27). So when finally Jesus came, born of a woman like every other person, they could not recognize Him. He was too ordinary and too unimpressive.


We are being challenged that when we celebrate Christmas too it seems that we celebrate Christmas without Christ. What dominates more is the spirit of commercialism that robs away the real meaning of Christmas. It is like when we celebrate the feast of a saint. Many would say that the fiesta is dry and boring because there is no disco, not cockfighting and no beauty pageant and miss gay contests. What happen now when we celebrate Christmas is, instead of ringing the bell in the church, what we hear is the merry ringing of cash at shopping centers.





ALTENATIVE HOMILY ON THE 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B
          '' REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS"

The second reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians is giving us an invitation to rejoice always.( 1 Thessalonians 5:16). Among the most neglected of all Christian obligations is the obligation to rejoice. Just as the word of God commands us to believe and to love, so does it command us to rejoice. On the third Sunday of Advent, the church reminds us of this often forgotten obligation. The third Sunday of Advent is called " Gaudete Sunday." Gaudete is Latin for " rejoice." It is a command taken directly from Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians, as in today's  reading :  "Rejoice always."( 1Thessalonians 5:16). It is a positive command, one that we are supposed to keep at all times and in all circumstances. It is not a conditional command that we keep only when things are going well with us.


The command to rejoice, like every other command, is demanding. As we sing in the Lord of the Dance, " It is hard to dance with the devil on your back." Author Leo Buscaglia tells a story about his mother which shows that it takes a lot of faith to rejoice. His father came back from work one day and announced that he had lost all his money because his business partner had dumped him and ran away with their firm's funds. That same evening, his mother went out, sold some of her expensive jewelry, and bought food for a sumptuous feast. People criticized her for reckless spending at a time when poverty was staring her in the face. But she told them that " the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." He courageous act rallied the Family and gave them the hope  they needed to face the future with confidence and trust that God was in control.


Finally, Paul tells us how to achieve the ideal life of God's children to which he calls us. It is not something  we achieve by our own efforts alone. It is something that God Himself accomplishes in us. " May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely: and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this ( 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). The life of holiness to which Paul invites us this advent is the life of God in us. It is God in us who makes it happen. Our part is mainly to say yes to God, to surrender totally to Him. It is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always, but the one who calls us to this life is one who always gives us what He commands. He is faithful, and He will do it in our lives. So be it. Amen.


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1 Response to "HOMILY FOR 3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT IN YEAR B"

  1. Wakora muno Mukuru. Omwegeso gwaawe gwiinamu endiiko. Genderera otyo waitu. Nitukusiimira Rugaba.

    JibuFuta