This Third Sunday of Advent is often referred to as “Gaudete Sunday” – Rejoice in the Lord; the Lord is near – from the opening phrase of the Entrance Psalm. It is a Sunday when the liturgical vestments can be a very light shade of purple, in fact pink! Pink for some reason is related to hope and so this Sunday is a day of hope for the soon to come Lord. It is the occasion to be more aware of the completion of the Advent season and completing the penances we have accepted to free our hearts to welcome the coming of the Savior, the Lord Jesus.
When St. Luke wrote the Gospel we hear today, it was several decades after the Ascension and his interest were more in the history of Salvation as it unfolded in the times after the primitive community. The expectations of the imminent end of the world were fading. The Baptist’s exhortations to conversion took on a new meaning. They are a challenge to transform our everyday lives.
Luke introduces us to the crowds of people of good will from every walk of life. Attentive to the precursor’s preaching, they have become aware that they must change their lives. And like those followers of the Baptist, we too realize our need for conversion and ask, “What must I do?” As the basic foundation of any conversion, we must renounce self-sufficiency, we must acknowledge the necessity of hearing the Word of God that will draw us out of ourselves. John the Baptist gives some very wise instructions to any of us seeking to respond more fully to the Lord. It is simple; it is the social justice that we are innately aware. Share your resources; give away the extra coat; share your food with those in need; don’t use your authority to gain money; be just and truthful in exercising authority.
John the Baptist could preach such a way of life because it was the essence of his vocation. One of his joys was that his disciples, John, Peter, James, when they encountered Jesus, they left John and followed the Master. For that John rejoiced. His one wish was to lead persons to Christ. He had come to prepare the way of the Lord. He had no wish to keep persons to himself. In this he is the perfect model for self-denial. He never wanted anyone to grow attached to him. His one wish was to lead everyone to Christ.
The example of John the Baptist, perhaps the special grace of love given to John was expressed by serving, doing whatever Christ wanted, whatever Christ commanded – serving perfectly. This is what Jesus expects of is followers. The persons Jesus relates to are those from whom He can ask everything. John the Baptist was such a one, a person who put himself completely in the hands of the Lord, the perfect servant who did the still more that the Master asked.
As we approach the great mystery of God becoming one of us, the Gospel message is the simple exhortation of Saint John the Baptist to those who came to him – be faithful to one’s vocation; share the necessities of life with those in need. This is the beginning; it is for Jesus to call each of us to that still further horizon that we know from His life. Jesus died that we might have life and he calls each of us to do the same. This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that John said Jesus would preach. It is the particular vocation that each of us receives and calls us to follow Jesus in our particular manner. We are called to die with Christ so that we can live with Him for all eternity.