Year B: Third Sunday in Advent. Gaudete Sunday

Shanagolden Church

We’ve a week to go to for Christmas. The focus today in the Gospel is on John the Baptist pointing to Jesus. He is a witness to Jesus. It’s a busy week ahead with a lot of things to do. But let’s remember we too are called to witness to Jesus as we go about our tasks.

I want to make a simple suggestion on how to witness – that we take just one sentence from St. Paul in the Second Reading who offers three ways to witness to Jesus. The sentence reads: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Thess. 5:16-18)”

Rejoice always. That doesn’t mean just be happy go lucky. We know we have difficulties and challenges personally and in our families and, indeed, in our Church. We might have had bereavements recently. However, we can still give witness by persevering in believing in Jesus, that he is with us, that God is near. This means we have a deep joy in us. We give witness to that joy when we try see and love Jesus in others. The image of a bicycle dynamo comes to mind. The more we peddle the more light there is. Likewise, the more try to do acts of love for people, the more joy we’ll have inside us and the more it’ll be reflected in our lives.

Pray always. This seems hard to do. How can we pray always? We have so many other things to do. It’s not a question of simply reciting long prayers. An Orthodox theologian, Evdokimov wrote, ‘It’s not enough to have prayers, rules and habits; we should become prayer, be prayer incarnate. Our life should be liturgy, prayer concerns the most ordinary and everyday things.’ One practical suggestion to help build up our lives in prayer that was given to me years ago was to say “for you, Jesus” before each action we are doing.

Always give thanks in all circumstances. It’s important to have an attitude of thanksgiving in our hearts. There is so much to be grateful for if we have eyes to see it. All that surrounds us is God’s love and mercy for us – from family members to local amenities, from the land to the houses we inhabit… But we are to give thanks in all circumstances, also on the difficult days. God is always working for our good in all circumstances, always. So we need to keep thanking him even when it’s not easy. Someone told me recently of how she had been very discouraged by some news she received. While initially she was down in the dumps she remembered this point – give thanks in all circumstances. Not just when the sun shines but also on the rainy days. She found herself gradually repeating “thanks” in her heart.

These three points can help us for the week ahead: rejoice always, pray always, give thanks always.