Today, halfway through Advent, we receive an invitation to joy and hope: “Rejoice always (...) give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess 5:16-17). The Lord is near! Together with the prophet Isaiah, together with John the Baptist, whom we meet in the Gospel, and together with Mary, we too exclaim: “I rejoice greatly in the Lord.”
Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” – November-December
3rd Sunday of Advent (B)
3rd week, proper
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 61:1-2, 10-11)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord. I rejoice heartily in the Lord, my soul exults in my God; for he has clothed me with garments of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, and like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden makes its seeds spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the First Reading
The prophet Isaiah immediately gives us the right tone for singing this Sunday of Advent, entitled “Rejoice”: together with the man of God, together with John the Baptist, whom we meet in the Gospel, we too can exclaim: “I rejoice greatly in the Lord.” Today’s first reading presents at the outset the prophet’s vocation, consecration, and mission. Who is he? In the Gospel, John the Baptist makes it clear that he is not the one and points to someone else who must come: Jesus, the Christ. This reading invites us to reflect on the fact that, although each of us is already a wonder from the very beginning of our existence, through Baptism we have received from the Holy Spirit this charism, this prophetic gift: we can proclaim the good news of the Gospel and of our lives. We can support, care for, and encourage those who no longer know how to love; pray and help bring about liberation from sin throughout the world; solemnly affirm the presence of the Lord. All this seems like a dream, but it is possible to the extent that we remain united to Christ. In fact, in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, he himself will use these words to explain his mission of salvation and joy.
SECOND READING
From the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (1 Thess 5:16-24)
Brothers and sisters, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy, and may your whole person, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will accomplish it! – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the Second Reading
Saint Paul continues to offer a joyful melody, with a ringing voice, in the solemn song of joy intoned by Isaiah in the first reading. “Rejoice always,” says the Apostle. Let us ask ourselves, then: what kind of exultation and serenity does the Christian experience? The disciple of Jesus is not like those would-be sages who withdraw from the world and human suffering in order to find, only within themselves and among those who think similarly, an indifference that makes them superior to everyone else: in other words, “even if the world struggles and groans, I shut myself away in my little shell and I am comfortable there.” Nor does one who follows the Lord try to find happiness in a thousand amusements that speak only of disorientation, escape, and the easy loss of one’s dignity. The Christian who tries to live out his or her faith authentically does not distance themselves from the sufferings of the world, near and far. Rather, they draw close to them, bringing a joyful hope: it is the Lord who guides history, even through the folds and the most acute, apparently absurd wounds we encounter along our journey. This is true today, just as it was in the time of Christ the Lord.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28)
A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, then, so that we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord,” as Isaiah the prophet said. Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the prophet?” John answered them: “I baptize with water. In your midst stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the Day
It seems that the word “testimony” may be the key to accessing the deeper meaning of this Gospel passage. In ancient Greek, the word “martyr” is used to designate a “witness”: one who is faithful to the truth and to an encounter with Christ, even to the point of giving their life out of love. If this is the Sunday dedicated to joy, how is it possible, then, that death and apparent failure are discussed so openly? The explanation lies in the figure of John the Baptist. He is not yet the light of joy, but his vocation and mission consist precisely in pointing to the true light, the one that never sets. He was an authentic witness to the One who was to come, who was about to appear in public life among the people of God. John the Baptist therefore occupies a very special position: on the one hand, he comes before Jesus, with his powerful call to conversion; on the other, he is the last of those who foretold the Savior, later presenting him to the world in the scene of the baptism. We too are called to bear witness to our faith, like John the Baptist. Witnesses, even silent but effective ones, of the joy we live and therefore share.
