Rejoice

Rejoice

December 16, 2012

Third Sunday of Advent C 2012

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

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.  Zephaniah 3:17-18a

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.  John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.  I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Luke 3:15-16

Piety

Happiness is an essential part of joy. Our piety makes it possible for us to rejoice in the Lord always.  Piety is the lived connection with the love of God for us.  Love is expressed in oneness.  The fact that God created us to have someone to love is not obvious to everyone.  It takes a strong faith to believe in a world gone mad that God is love.  Our happiness is the result of God’s love grabbing our hearts.  It is not something we can take for granted.  Grace is God’s offer of friendship.  Piety is how we accept his friendship.  What we offer of ourselves is our piety.  The paradox of love is that we have to give it away to hold onto it.  Our piety shouts out our joy at the presence of the Lord in our lives.  It allows us to be mad at a God who loves us even as he leaves us free to do whatever.

Study

We rejoice in the nearness of the Lord to us.  Love does not leave room for fear.  We share our hearts with God.  God is wherever our love is.  He gives life to us.  We study by prayer his presence in our lives.  We are thankful for how the Lord lives in our lives.  We make our requests known to God by our prayer.  The spirit of the living God lives in our love and is part of who we are in ways that surpass all understanding.  Our hearts and our minds are nourished by living our lives in Jesus.  We have been anointed by God to bring the good news that God is in our lives.

Action

We announce the good news of salvation by our gifts of Christmas.  Each gift is the refection of the love of God that comes into our world at Christmas.  Our gifts may seem inadequate to us.  They may be small and insignificant but they find their worth and meaning by the love that accompanies them.  People came to John to hear the good news.  They thought they  found it in John who claimed himself as the precursor to God’s gift of himself in Jesus.  John answered their search for Christ by claiming he was not who they were looking for.  John said of himself that he was not worthy to loosen the straps of Christ’s sandals.  John came to announce the coming.  We are called to be the coming of Christ by how we live our lives in his name.  Our good works show our faith in Christ and make Christ present in what we do.