Third Sunday of Advent
Joy is the theme of the first half of mass today. Gaudete. The entrance antiphon, the opening prayer, the first reading, the responsorial psalm and the second reading all focus on joy. At that point there is a shift to the theme of the second half of mass: the good news of salvation to those who repent. We find this theme in the gospel acclamation, in the gospel itself, in the prayer over the gifts, in the communion antiphon and in the prayer after communion. Putting these two thematic halves together, we are encouraged to seek the joy that comes only to those who repent from sin and are saved by Jesus Christ.
The joy of Christmas cookies and holiday cheer is different. The joy of decorations and Christmas cards and parties is different. The joy of Christmas music is different. The joy of being reunited with family members home for the holidays is different. Same thing for the snow, the reindeer, Santa, and presents. Given these differences, one strategy, that of the immature youth, is to embrace these joys fully and seek them out at all costs. A second strategy, that of the worn-outcurmudgeon, is to reject these lesser joys as vain, hollow, superficial, transitory, deceptive and dangerous. A third strategy is to accept these passing joys for what they are worth and offer them up to God with thanksgiving while begging for the lastingjoy that we heard about at mass today.
Whichever strategy we find ourselves living out, let us have the courage to be merry as we remember the birth of the second person of the Holy Trinity into our fallen world