Homily for Third Sunday of Advent

Excitement is in the air with each increasing day before Christmas. Kids are so hopeful that their wishes become reality on Christmas day when all gather to open presents. Not wanting to disappoint their children, parents sometimes go overboard spending time and money on everything their kids expect to find under the tree on Christmas morning. Jack and Jill are keenly aware of the commercialism and consumerism that dominates attention during the holidays. To offset the secularism that prevails, Jack and Jill challenged the kids to prepare by presenting an Advent Present. Just before dinner on the First Sunday of Advent, their children, Charles and Sally, were given the Advent Present. Upon opening the Advent Present, they were disappointed to find what they considered to be an empty box. Jack and Jill assured them that the Present was filled, but they could only see with “eyes of faith” what filled the present. They were encouraged to pray every day for “eyes of faith” and to listen closely to the scripture lessons at Sunday Mass for clues.

On the vigil of the Third Sunday of Advent and during dinner, Jack and Jill asked the kids if they had found their “eyes of faith.” Charles spoke up. He said “I prayed every day and listened for clues at Sunday Mass like you told us to. I got the impression that all the waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus at his birth and finally in glory at the end of time is filled with hope.” Jack, his father, said “I think that you just might have hit on something important.” Sally chimed in “The ancient Israelites were told to stay alert and prepare for the coming of the Messiah. For hundreds of years, they hoped to see the Messiah. Little did they know that their hope was fulfilled in Mary who was empowered by God to receive and give birth to Promised One, Jesus.” Jill said “That’s right, Sally. Do you have the “eyes of faith? Look into the Advent Present now. What do you see?” Both Charles and Sally looked into the Advent Present. “Wow!” they exclaimed. “The Present is filled with hope and peace. We have eyes of faith!”

Jack said “Praise the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God! The spirit of the Lord God is upon us tonight!” The family ate dinner that night with hearts and souls filled with hope and peace. The next morning, the family went to early Mass after which they went home and decorated the house for the great celebration of the birth of the Lord. The tree was decorated and looked better than ever this year. Their home was ready for the coming of the Lord! And they hoped that everything they wanted would be found under the tree on Christmas morning.

Isaiah, the prophet, was excited too. He said, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice.” Why all the excitement? The prophet said, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tiding to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.”

Hundreds of years later when Jesus began his ministry, He chose these very words from Isaiah to characterize his ministry. Emmanuel is with his people. Saint Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians tells us “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.” Heeding Paul’s advice, we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Be careful that you are not deceived. John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of the Christ. Some of the Jews, especially some priests and Levites, thought that John might be the one sent from God. Clearly John told those who questioned him “I am not the Christ. I am not Elijah. I am not the Prophet you are looking for. I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

John was questioned further by some Pharisees. “Who then are you? Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.

Here is the problem. There is one among us whom we do not recognize. Steeped in sin, we are blind and do not see Jesus. By thinking only of self and our problems, we become a god no longer seeking the mercy and forgiveness of God who loves us and created us to be his chosen people. Having been taught to think for ourselves, we have become morally relativistic. Now we need the “eyes of faith” to see the truth. Jesus is present today in his mystical body, the Church. He is the head, and we are the members of His divine, mystical body. With “the eyes of faith,” we see that his mission and ministry is now our mission and ministry. The spirit of the Lord God is upon us, because the Lord has anointed us; he has sent us to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God. 

Who are you? You are the voice of one crying out, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’ Now look into the Advent Present, see that it is filled with hope and peace.

God be blessed! Now and forever. Amen.