WHY MUST WE REJOICE?

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The period of waiting can really be boring or exhaustive. To wait needs patience. A friend once narrated his ordeal as he waited for a guest who failed to come at the scheduled time. Both friends had scheduled the arrival time. The guest had cancelled every other appointment he had, for he decided to be at home to welcome his guest so as to accord him the respect for their friendship. Along the line, something inhibited the guest from arriving at the agreed time. The host got disappointed and regretting having cancelled his appointment decided to leave to attend to some other pressing issues. He was annoyed due to the boredom he witnessed as a result of the time wasted. He locked up his house and off he went. He had thought to himself to pay back his guest in his own coin. He must wait for me, he reasoned, whenever he arrives to feel the pains of waiting for another. Sometimes, preparation and eager waiting can be met with boredom and anger if on one hand, the strength and the zeal of the one waiting dwindles, or on another hand, the waiter gets the impression that the preparation and waiting may finally be in vain.

The Advent season is a period of waiting eagerly for the saviour. It goes with various preparations and alertness. However, we are exhorted never to lose focus of patience as we wait. We are not permitted to nurse the impression of relaxing or even giving up on preparation. This is why it is necessary to pause a while and refuel our souls for the spiritual preparation and look-out for the coming of the king. This is why we must rejoice. This is why we must guide against any form of boredom or interest killer. We have to live in joy. This is the message of this Sunday which is properly called Gaudete Sunday. The three Readings all contain this singular message of being joyful. The First Reading (Is. 61:1-2a.10-11) went personally to state that “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God.” The Second Reading (1 Thes. 5:16-24) came in the form of a strong admonition: “Rejoice always.” The Gospel Reading went ahead to give us a very powerful reason why we must rejoice: it is because among you stands one whom you do not know. These readings call our attention to the fact that we must live in joy, and never let anything or reality to dampen our spirits. Why must we live in Joy? The readings unravel three reasons for us.

1) We must live in joy because we have been anointed to do God’s work. God does not send us on a mission without empowering us. The Prophet Isaiah enumerated the mission that goes with our anointing. We are anointed to bring news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. We are heralds and emissaries sent for this. And as messengers, we need to bear faces that can attract people to buy our message. We must be joyful. Pulling long faces can only make people scared of us. When those who are on this mission live in joy, the people that encounter may live in the imagination of how joyful they are. Then can they desire to identify with that message that gives joy.

2) We must live in joy because it is the will of God. Every lifestyle has its code of conduct. Every group has its own constitution. Our constitution is the will of God. We must live in joy and never despair because God wants us to be joyful. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians who were almost giving up on hope based on the preaching on the second coming of Christ. people had stopped working and had abandoned their daily pursuits to wait for the coming with a kind of panic-stricken expectancy. So, Paul had to write to them to be calm and not fearful and to go about their normal duties. He gave them series of advice. The Thessalonians were imagining the fate of those who died before the second coming, and that led them into panic. Paul had to give them three major features of knowing a true Church. The first is that it is a happy church: hence they must rejoice. Christianity must make us feel uplifted and not depressed. The second is it must be a praying Church; hence they must pray. Christianity must make us realize the importance of prayer individually and communally. The third is that it must be a thankful church; hence, they must give thanks. Christianity must make us realize that here is always something for which we can give thanks to God.

3) We must live in joy because Christ who we are waiting for is already in our midst. He is among us already. We need only to make effort to discover who he is and where he is. This is why John the Baptist in the Gospel told the people that in their midst already stood the messiah, the one the thong of whose sandals he was unable to untie. He was not even fit to be the slave of the Messiah. Since he is in our midst, our salvation is with us. We must focus our attention on the Christ just as John has directed us to him. John redirected all those who thought him as the anointed one. One of the things that can distract us from focusing on Christ is an improper focus or misleading information. Our livelihood in joy is that we were not misled and are not mislead. We have been shown the Christ, and so must rush to embrace Him and work so that the kingdom of God reigns forever.

May the celebration of joy lead us into its fullness during the Christmas season. God bless you.