Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11
1 Thes 5:16-24
John 1:6-8,19-28
Bishop Untener's Homily
Advent is a season that is meant to shake us up. Not in a bad way, but rather to shake us into awareness - to wake us up to the deep and wonderful truths about God, about ourselves, and about the meaning of life. We get used to these truths, and take them for granted, and forget how unusual and how wonderful they are.
Think about it. All the truths of our faith are meant to be good news. Everything we believe is good news, uplifting, positive, joyful, happy. Not glum, threatening, sad, heavy, harsh, oppressive. The fundamental truths of our faith are joyful. God is good. God loves us. God sent Jesus into our world so that we could be his brothers and sisters, children of God. Jesus overcame our greatest worry - death - and we shall live forever.
This is not to say that we should be giddy. There are struggles, sufferings, and sadness in life. But those are more toward the surface. Deep down, at the deepest level, underlying everything, there should be a quiet joyfulness. I heard somewhere, "Happiness is no laughing matter." That's true. Happiness isn't all laughter. It is a steady, down-deep sense of peace and joy.
We're preparing for Christmas, which is a time when we wish each other a Merry Christmas, not a mournful Christmas. And today, the Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. "Gaudete" is the Latin word for "rejoice". The Introit for the Mass on the Third Sunday of Advent always begins with that word: Rejoice. And, in today's second reading Paul says, "Rejoice always."
But we don't. At least, a lot of times we don't. This deserves some thought, and I've been thinking about it these past few days.
You know what I came up with? I think we all tend to cloud our lives with our "favorite angers." These are things that we know will make us angry, and in a twisted sort of way we nurture them, and enjoy crabbing about them. I started a list, and I'm going to ask you to come up with some yourselves - not necessarily your own "favorite angers," but what you think many people have. So ...
- The first one I have written down is "lousy drivers." You can get all worked up just driving across town. Or, it can ruin a long trip. (Okay. That gets us started. Let's hear what "favorite angers" you can come up with.)
- Taxes. (Yes. You can always get people worked up about taxes and government waste. It's a sure-fire way to get everyone into negative thinking.)
- Politics and politicians. (That'll always work, something like "taxes".)
- The way people park and take up two spaces. (That's a spin-off of "lousy drivers".)
- Gasoline prices. (Now that one can really get your goat, especially when a holiday is approaching. You can even let it ruin your holiday.)
- Football coaches. (Especially if they coach the Lions! That one sets me thinking about another one: Hockey referees! Talk about negative thinking!)
- Children who are disrespectful. (We can all get talking about that ... youngsters who get away with things we would have gotten clobbered for.)
- Rap music. (That's one I hadn't thought of, but you're right.)
- Tele-marketers. (We could all get going on that one.)
- Rudeness. (You notice it in lots of places. People are rude to store clerks. Or, they talk very loud on their mobile phone right in the midst of other people.)
- The media. (Everyone will chime in on that one.)
Okay. You get the idea. So here we are 10 days before Christmas, on Gaudete Sunday, and we think about all these things that can get us angry, down, gloomy. You've heard of the list of the seven deadly sins. I think it was Saint Teresa of Avila who said gloom is the eighth deadly sin. It's a contradiction for a Christian to be gloomy.
What can we do about that? I have a suggestion. The very first line of today's Gospel set me thinking. The opening words are: "A man named John was sent from God."
Do you know what? Those same words can be used of each of us. Try putting your name in there: "A man named ______ was sent from God." "A woman named ________ was sent from God." It's true. God formed each one of us, with our own special gifts, and put us on this earth at this time and in this place for a purpose. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and God acts through us to move creation gradually toward its destiny. "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world."
What I want you to do later today, or sometime this week, is to list the gifts you have. I'll bet most of us have never done that. You can write them down or just think about them. But you do have gifts, and God gave them to you. They may seem very, very small, they may not be sensational, but God gave them to you. Others may not even notice some gifts, but God gave them to you. "A man/woman named ______ was sent from God."
Be specific, not vague about your gifts. And make sure you come up with more than two or three, because our God is a God of largesse. When we think about ourselves this way, and see ourselves placed in the world to use our gifts to help shape creation, then we have a sense of purpose, a deep down peace, happiness. It beats feeding on one another's "favorite angers." Instead of thinking about all the problems and evils in the world, we think about the gifts God gave us to help overcome the kinds of things that cause our "favorite angers."
So think about your gifts. And take Paul's words to heart: "Rejoice always. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you."
Originally given on December 15, 2002