Homily, December 17, 2023
From The Pastor
We are so blest to be people of faith. Faith is God’s gift that the believer accepts and allows to grow. Faith is intended for all who seek the way and the truth of love revealed in Christ. Advent highlights the gift of faith in those who prepare and celebrate the birth of Jesus even hold great hope in his second coming.
Moving into the second half of Advent with a ready anticipation for the feast of Christmas, consider your faith and its meaningful impact on your life. It may be more effective to consider your life without Christ. What if there was no Jesus? What if there was no Incarnation, no Mary Mother of our Savior, no Cross, death, or Resurrection; no redemption, forgiveness of sin, or promise of heaven? Seems almost inconceivable, doesn’t it? The world without question would be radically different. Human dignity and society would not be the same. If we as human beings are the pinnacle of existence and society, what would be our purpose and meaning? What would relationships look like? How would forgiveness or mercy be expressed? Praise God that Christ is the pinnacle and truth of our existence.
The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. It is the Latin word for joy, or to rejoice. Why? Because there is a Savior, and there is an Incarnation, a Mother of God, a death, a rising, and eternal life. The gift of God in Christ is worthy of our joy which is exactly the intention and call of this ‘Rejoice Sunday.’
Each of the readings today express an eternal hope with a lively expectation of a coming Messiah. Released from a time of exile, God seeks through the Prophet Isaiah to restore hope and faith in the promise of Divine fidelity. The images and symbols of the reading scream hope, joy, promise, abundance, liberation, and freedom. These are the very things people in captivity and oppression long for.
This prophecy of Isaiah was not only effective in his day but anticipates the coming of the Christ who will claim these very words at the inauguration of his public ministry. ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me…He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, healing, liberation, and release to those bound, to announce a year of favor in the vindication of our God.’
This is a word of salvation built on the promise of God now fulfilled in the birth of Christ the Lord. It is a call to rejoice and feel the joy of the Lord in every human soul. This is what we long for in the reality of Christ whose birth we are soon to commemorate. Do you, or can you claim this word of God for yourself as a follower of Jesus? Through Baptism, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you and me, and each of us in turn are called to serve the works of the Kingdom as modeled by Jesus. Claim these words with joy and hope through active participation in Christ.
The heart of Advent is hope, promise, and joy given in the coming of our Savior. The core of Christian prayer is gratitude and praise with worship and rejoicing in the Lord our God who has come to save us. St. Paul is very clear. ‘Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in every circumstance.’ Why? Because we are the beneficiaries of the Word Made Flesh, freely given by God in the promise of mercy, acceptance, forgiveness, and new life in Christ.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and John the Baptist are major players in this joyous season. Mary’s gift was her yes to God on behalf of all humanity and creation. Mary embraced God’s Word as the Mother of our Savior. Mary knew who she was as a believer in God with every hope in the coming of the Messiah. For each of us, Mary humbly surrendered herself to the Divine plan.
Humility is also a core response of John as he served as preparer for the coming Messiah. John knew his role and accepted it. John calls us to the light of faith in readiness to see and accept the Savior when he comes. John considers himself nothing compared to the One who is to come. “Who are you?” “I am not the Christ.” “Who are you?” “I am a voice crying out…’Make straight the way of the Lord.” Even in his call for repentance and a change of heart, John held a certain joy and excited anticipation at the coming of the Lord Jesus. Believing in Jesus is to honor John who prepared his way. John would deflect the honor and point to Jesus as a greater man in the Holy Spirit.
In these next two weeks, consciously attend to a spirit of gratitude, praise, and rejoicing in the Lord. Ponder who you are in Christ and what salvation means to you. Through the birth, life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus our lives are radically different. In Christ, we are people of light and witnesses of the gospel we profess. The journey and witness of the Christian gospel is not always easy, but for people in the Spirit it creates joy, secures hope, and inspires love. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Your kindness should be known to all. Have no anxiety, at all, but in everything pray, petition, and offer thanksgiving, making your needs known to God.’ Phil. 4: 4-6.
Father John Esper
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