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This third Sunday in Advent is called the Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday. One may ask why it is called Gaudete Sunday. It is called so because the birth of Jesus as Man is very near and his coming will bring liberation to many who are held captive in various ways. The good news is that when Jesus comes, all our worries and concerns will be done with, and our hearts will be filled with joy.
In the gospel reading of today taking from John 1: 19-28, we see that attention is drawn to the person and mission of John the Baptist. We know that John was the forerunner of Jesus who was preparing the hearts of the people towards the coming of the Messiah, but the people wanted to be sure of his identity, so the Jews sent some Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he did not deny but declared quiet openly, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘Are you Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am not’. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He said, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself? John replied, I am, as Isaiah prophesied: A voice of the one that cries in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord. Make his paths straight. He was humble enough to tell them that he was not the Christ, he was contented with who he was and would not claim to be who he was not. He went further to say that he was not even fit to untie the strap of his sandals. John did his part in preparing the way for the Lord and it was time for him to give way to the Master of the day. One striking thing about John the Baptist was that he was happy with his position as the forerunner of Jesus. He was a fulfilled man because he was aware of his identity and in touch with himself.
This is an invitation for all to ask this same question, ‘Who am I?’, ‘Who are you?’ We all need the humility of John the Baptist to be true to who we truly are and be happy to let go of what we so much cling to, even when it is obvious that we are not what we claim to be. When we are in touch with who we really are, we will be happy and joyful with ourselves and with others.
As we approach the birth of Jesus in a week’s time, the prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled just as Jesus himself re-read it in the gospel of Luke 4: 18-19. “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the Goodnews to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the year of God’s favour”. We are called by the Church to rejoice because our liberation is near at hand, and we know the one who is coming and what he will bring. He will heal us of our spiritual blindness, of our spiritual poverty and freedom to all who are in captivity of sin. Jesus is close to the broken hearted and those whose Spirit is crushed he will save. What an encouraging word to our world that is filled with sufferings of one kind or the other. This is the message that the coming of Jesus at Christmas will bring to us.
