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Homily for Third Sunday of Advent - Cycle B

Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11 ; 2Peter3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

Fr. Antony Akkanath


All of us like to hear positive messages and good news to be happy and joyful. When a news or message is good and positive, both the giver and the receiver of that news experience true happiness. When someone brings a message of joy to the people, when they least expect it, that becomes the best moment of happiness for them. Such a moment of rejoicing is nothing other than feeling the true freedom and happiness as the children of God.

There once lived a boy who always longed to have a bicycle for himself to go to school. But due to the poor financial condition of his family, he never asked or demanded for it from his parents. He suppressed his great desire to own a bicycle and always used to walk miles to go to school from his village. There was a teacher in his school who always used to scold him for coming late to school. But once the teacher realized that he comes to school from a faraway village by walking miles, he decided to help him out. The teacher chose the occasion of Christmas that year to give him a bicycle as a Christmas gift. When he received that unexpected gift from his own teacher he cried with Joy. It also brought a great smile on his face and his face lit up with joy! That was the moment the teacher also felt the true happiness of giving and sharing.

The joy that the Nativity of the Lord brings to us and our family must fill not only our hearts but we must also share the same joy with others, especially less privileged ones in our society. Only then the celebration of Christmas would become a true feast of Joy. The Nativity of our Lord, therefore, is a feast of ‘Joy par excellence’; and this Sunday, the underlying message of all the readings remind us of this fact.

In the first reading of today we heard the famous song of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”(Is.61:1) This is one of the Bible passages from the Old Testament which Jesus quoted at a synagogue in Nazareth at the very beginning of his public ministry (Lk. 4:16-30). It is therefore a passage loved by all the people especially by consecrated persons – religious sisters, brothers, and priests. We can hear this being read at the ordinations and religious professions. Many religious people use it as the most preferred Bible Quotation for the Ordination and Profession Souvenirs.

We also heard the prophet saying "I delight fully in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God'' (Is 61, 10). We also repeated those verses in the responsorial psalm of today. It is the same song Mother Mary used to rejoice for the great favour God showered on her life; “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour" (Lk 1, 46-47): We must make our own these words of prophet Isaiah and Mother Mary and recite it day and night in order to be grateful to the Lord for every situations of our lives. We must make this wonderful canticle of the Magnificat resound in this time of Advent and let that joy we draw from our faith should shine throughout our Christian life. True joy and happiness always come from the gratitude of feeling loved by God the Father.

In the second reading we heard St. Paul asking the faithful at Thessalonian to “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. In a way St. Paul exhorts all the followers of Christ to rejoice no matter what the situation in which they live. The apostle's exhortations make a Christian a truly joyful person even in the midst of situations which are good or bad. It helps them to endure sufferings and have a smile of hope always on the face, because he/she knows that sadness can never be part of true Christian life.

Today’s Gospel speaks to us of John the Baptist as a witness to the light and as the one who, sent by God, gives to those around him all those signs and clues to recognize the Son of God. John the Baptist is one of the very few Biblical characters who is in fact ‘humility personified’. In his answer to the question of priests and the Levites about his true identity, John never pronounces even his own name, but always answers their questions with three negatives: "I am not the Christ" - "I am not (Elijah)" - “I am not (the prophet) ". He simply defined himself as a "voice" that cries out in the wilderness and he then goes away without much notice, once his mission is accomplished. The Baptist confronts us with a fundamental dilemma in this modern world: either to deny oneself, or to deny Christ. John never "denied” Christ but denied himself of all the privileges and honour of being a Prophet and Teacher for the sake of Christ. John the Baptist had a very clear idea and understanding about who Jesus was and did not hesitate to declare it to the world. It was John who recognized Jesus from the very first moments of his life when, in Elizabeth's womb, he had exalted with joy as soon as his mother had greeted Mary; He also did not hesitate to dedicate his life to announce this great joy of the long-awaited Messiah. He lived a life of humility and austerity for the sake of Christ by going to live in the desert, eating wild honey and locusts, and praying and begging people to repent and convert them in order to prepare the Way for the Messiah. He baptized people in the river of Jordan but at the same time announced to the people that a new baptism of the Spirit would be given by Jesus the Saviour of the World. He baptised Jesus and showed to the world the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He also raised his voice against the mighty rulers of that time speaking and standing for the sanctity of the marriage. But he had to pay with his own life for pointing out the wrong deeds of the ruler. John the Baptist is truly a great example for all of us, because he compels us to be courageous and stand for what is just and truthful. He is the greatest witness of the light, that light who is Jesus Christ, who illuminates the hearts of all those before and around him and fills them with Joy.

My dear friends, it is not easy in today's world to be people of light and joy; because there are people who never want to come to this light and be happy. They like to be in darkness. We live in a world in which there are some people who are always unhappy and dissatisfied with their life. They remain in darkness and never allow light of love, truth, peace and joy to enter in them. Such people also make the life of others a hell. They often want others also to be in the same condition as theirs. A true Christian never can do that. As Christ’s disciples we must be joyful and grateful for all the blessing God the heavenly Father has given us. We must rejoice ourselves and make others also to rejoice.

The Third Sunday of advent is therefore known as the Sunday of Joy. Our faces should always light up with Joy whenever we hear the good news of Christ. A person who listens to the good news daily is a person who is always Joyful and Happy. So we must always read, listen and share the good news to be joyful. A joyful face expresses all the beauty that it carries inside us. A joyful face will always find all the doors open before them because it illuminates the people who are in front and around it. Just like giving an unexpected gift lights up the face of both the giver and receiver with joy, the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah, the canticle of Mother Mary, the exhortation of St. Paul and the testimony of John the Baptist should illuminate all us today. The good news and the joy that all of them brought for the people was the gift of Jesus Christ. It is not easy to be humble like John the Baptist in this modern world. It is also not easy to bring the good news of joy to places where there are people who do not want to hear of that good news and experience that true joy. But with the help of God the Heavenly Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit let us try to be the messengers of Light by spreading the message of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace wherever we are.


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