December 16, 2012

Third Sunday of Advent

An Advent devotion from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

For those who are catching up with Advent.

Lectionary: 9

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Zephaniah
Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you
he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.

The Prophet Zephaniah has passed down a divine message of hope for the Hebrew people.  He says that God has forgiven their sins and has taken away their punishment.

The life of the nation of Israel can be seen as a veiled type of process of justification.  Each of us, in our journey of faith, are tested and suffer loss on account of our faith in Christ:

Philippians 3:8
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

But all that is nothing compared to the glory we will receive in the end.

On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
he will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

This is a reference of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  His institution of the Church and of the Sacraments make all His followers partakers of the divine nature.

2 Peter 1:4
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

Responsorial Psalm from the Holy Book of Isaiah
Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6.

Although there is a section of the Bible called the Psalms (which means "Songs"), there are songs, canticles, poems, or odes to God throughout the Scriptures.  Some of my favorites are in the New Testament.  The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is one of my favorites.  In this case, the canticle is taken from the Old Testament book of Isaiah

R. (6) Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.

R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.

R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!

R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

In this time of Advent, it is appropriate that we should offer to God a sacrifice of joy and thanksgiving for all the wonders He has done in our lives.  Don't look back folks, look forward and make certain that you find grace in the eyes of God:

Luke 9:62
King James Version (KJV)
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Look ahead to the coming of Christ in your heart.  Set everything else aside.

Reading 2 from St. Paul's epistle to the Philippians
Phil 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!

We should always rejoice in God.  Remember that He sent His only begotten Son to save us when we were still sinners.  There is nothing we could do to deserve that grace.  That is what St. Paul refers to as salvation apart from works.  It is the greatest Sacrament or Mystery of our faith.  That God took flesh and became man in order that we might be saved.  And it is the greatest gift, for which we must eternally be grateful.

Your kindness should be known to all.

This is a call for evangelization.  And evangelization begins at home.  Before you go knocking door to door, be sure that your children believe in and glorify God.  How embarrassed would you be to counsel your neighbors to glorify God and your own children, by their actions or inactions, crucify Christ again.

The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.

The Muslims have a saying, "God is closer to us than our jugular vein."  And so it is.  We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and we should behave as though we are aware of this great mystery:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The peace which only Christ gives is a great sign of predestination.  There are some Saints in which this gift is evident in this life.  Blessed Pope John Paul the II, was, in my mind, a perfect example of a man who had received this Gift of the Holy Spirit in this life.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist,

It is the time of Advent and St. John the Baptist is an embodiment of Advent.  It is he who was called to prepare the way of the Lord.

"What should we do?"
He said to them in reply,
"Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise."
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
"Teacher, what should we do?"
He answered them,
"Stop collecting more than what is prescribed."
Soldiers also asked him,
"And what is it that we should do?"
He told them,
"Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages."

Notice the advice.  Its not as though the Jews didn't know what to do.  St. John is simply telling them to keep the Commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:29
O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

This is all that God wants of us.  Why do we find it so difficult?

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.

St. John the Baptist was so evidently holy that the people of Jerusalem wondered if he were the long expected Messiah.

John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.

St. John the Baptist, however, was humble enough to be honest and explain that he was only the precursor who was setting things in order for the coming of the Mighty One of Israel.

I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

And so, he continued to give the crowds good exhortations which are still of value today.  Be honest in all you do, take consideration of your neighbor and above all, love God.

Sincerely,

De Maria