Dec. 13, 2020: 3rd Sunday Advent B
Dec. 13, 2020: 3rd Sunday Advent B
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In recent days what has made you smile and feel joyful? This Friday, the kindergarten class was besides themselves when they came to school on Friday wearing Christmas pajamas. Wearing their pajamas just made them feel giddy. Who would have thought that a change of uniforms could bring so much joy! And Pre-K class was on cloud nine when St. Nick visited their classes. Who would have thought that one man can transform an ordinary day into such a joyful day!
This Third Sunday of Advent invites us to ponder what makes us joyful. Our greatest joy is in God who comes to save us by becoming one of us. The Opening Prayer read, “O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us… to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.” Our temptation, however, is to believe that there is something else out there that will make us joyful, ‘If I could only have fill-in-the-blank, then I would have joy’?
Even in the time of Jesus, people were seeking ways to become fulfilled in their lives. They heard about a man in the Judean desert preaching and baptizing people. When they went out to see him, they beheld a strange sight—an impoverished man dressed in camel’s hair. He appeared to be homeless. Yet he was full of vigor, enthusiasm, and joy. He appeared to own nothing, yet he seemed to lack nothing. How could this be? Can one be joyful without having or wanting anything?
When we look at how John the Baptist lived, we get a sense that he desired and found joy in God alone. His choice to live in the desert, to eat whatever he found crawling and growing there, and to singularly dedicate his every waking hour in proclaiming the good news should remind us that there is joy in simplicity of life. Sometimes we feel so frazzled by the fast pace and busy lives we lead.
John wasn’t self-preoccupied, but God-occupied because John literally lived the principle of denying oneself. John was humble. John knew that he wasn’t the Messiah and told everyone that he wasn’t even worthy to tie the sandals of the one who was to come after him. While throngs of people came to John seeking the secret to their happiness, John’s joy in life was to diminish himself and point the people to Jesus.
The season of Advent is teaching us that humility and joy are intertwined, It was the Blessed Mother’s humility which allowed her to respond with ‘yes’ to God’s invitation to become the mother of the Messiah. Her joy was in being a servant of God, ready and willing to do what He desired for her. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity who created the Universe, humbled himself to become a tiny, human baby and obeyed his mother and father as he grew up. Jesus humbled himself because there was so much joy in loving us. Likewise for us, there awaits so much joy when we grow in humility.
What are some practical tips on growing in humility in order to gain a joyful life? Mother Teresa suggested the following tips:
- Speak as little as possible about yourself.
- Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.
- Accept small irritations with good humor.
- Do not dwell on the faults of others.
- Give in to the will of others.
- Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.
- Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.
The joy of John the Baptist can be ours when we too prepare the way of the Lord for someone in our lives, especially those who are poor and suffering. If we can bring the joy of Christmas to them in some small way, we will be filled with the joy of loving Jesus.
