Yesterday, we celebrated the Third Sunday of Advent, or Gaudete Sunday, in which the Church reminds us to “Rejoice in the Lord always. . . rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” For many of us, we have reasons to rejoice: festive family gatherings, Christmas bonuses, the end of the fall semester, etc. However, for some of us, we struggle to get out of bed every morning, much less have a reason to rejoice. Perhaps it is our first Christmas after we lost a loved one this past year. Perhaps we are unemployed and are anxious about what the future holds for our family.
Whether we are able to rejoice or not, as people of faith, we always have a reason to rejoice: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our faith gives us a reason to hope because we believe in a God who is love and who loves us. Our faith, through prayer and the sacraments (especially, the Eucharist and Reconciliation), compels us to trust in God and entrust our lives to the authority of Jesus. This is what Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel. The people believed that John the Baptist was a prophet, which means that his authority comes from God. Well, by faith, we know with certitude from where Jesus’ authority comes from. Recall this exchange between Jesus and Peter from the Gospel of Matthew: [Jesus] asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (16:13-16).
My sisters and brothers in Christ, if you have reasons to rejoice, then give God praise and glory. However, if you are struggling to find a reason to rejoice, then be encouraged by these words of Pope Saint John Paul II and have a reason to rejoice. Saint John Paul II once said: “We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery — the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. ‘We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!’ We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the ‘fundamental duty of love of neighbor, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy’” (Sunday Angelus on Nov. 30, 1986).
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