Third Sunday of Advent

A Voice Crying Out in the Wilderness "Make ready the path of the Lord!"

 In the third week of Advent, our focus shifts to John the Baptizer's admonition to "make straight the way of the Lord'" in Jesus' first coming. John prepares for the first coming of Christ while we are now preparing for the Second Coming.

This Sunday is Gaudete or Praise Sunday. What are we praising? We are joining Isaiah and Mary and proclaiming, "In my God is the joy of my soul!".  Both Isaiah and the Magnificat are the responses to a praiseworthy God. Isaiah's praise is an excellent place to start to see our role in "making straight the way of the Lord."

For us, it is not how well but how earnestly the "glory of the Lord" is revealed. One key aspect is "bringing glad tidings to the poor." It is more than simply meeting the financial needs of those less fortunate financially than ourselves, though that is an excellent place to start. It is about establishing community with the poor, accompanying them, and identifying with them as fellow seekers who value them as fellow travelers. While we may eagerly, and too often temporarily, provide material support, we are called to enter their poverty with the blessings of grace we have experienced on our journey. The poor come in all areas of our lives. The poverty of social isolation is where we find ourselves the center of attention and see others on the sidelines longing for inclusion. It can be the person who requires an attentive ear to vent frustration and anger. It can even be angry with us who believe we have not treated them justly. That means, for us, entering into the poverty of asking for forgiveness. All of the "poor" require our immediate attention, our wakefulness, to remind us that God found expression best with humanity, his creation who left the riches of Eden for the poverty of isolation.

Isaiah also speaks of "proclaiming liberty to captives." Our liberation from the alienation of sin is a great place to start. As we proclaim God's grace as a great liberation, we extend that grace to everyone. Forgiveness isn't a single act but a way of life, living in the receiving of forgiveness for those whom we have offended and rejoicing in their mercy (all mercy, ultimately, is God's mercy) and extending to those who have offended us reconciliation that isn't conditional upon them asking for our mercy.

Our lives as Christ-bearers, light in the darkness, smooth pathways through rough terrain, enable us to join Mary in declaring, "My soul rejoices in God my savior" because though poor, he has brought me glad tidings.