The Lord Has Clothed Me with the Garments of Salvation and Righteousness
Introduction: May you continue to rejoice in the coming of the Lord Jesus into your life and may you assist others in recognizing His presence by giving witness to the Light.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and shorter. Without artificial lights, we would be overwhelmed by the cold darkness of approaching winter. Yet as we look around us, we see the illumination that turns the darkness into a wonderful display of colored lights. The lights are meant to give witness to the fact that the Light of the World has come into our darkness in order to give us hope and assurance that when He returns again, all who are open to Him will share in the eternal Light.
We need to rejoice at the coming of the Light and also ask that we may be enlightened to discern what the Lord Jesus is asking of us.
Today is Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday. We sense a change in emphasis today as we start to transition from focusing on the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time to His First Coming in His human form. We are called to rejoice, reflect, discern, and witness. The passage from Isaiah speaks of GOD’s Spirit’s coming (adventus) and empowering. The result of this coming of GOD’s Spirit is the discernment to make things new and right. The Responsorial today is Mary’s prayer a few months before giving birth to Jesus. She is also aware of being blessed by GOD, a fact that leads her to proclaim GOD’s Goodness to her, and, through her, to all the world. In the Second Reading, Saint Paul writes to the faith community at Thessalonika. He tells them to rejoice for the Lord Jesus is coming (adventus) again. Their rejoicing should be open to GOD’s majesty, but they are not to accept that everything that happens is of divine origin. In the Gospel, John the Baptist ministers as a witness (martyros) to the Light Who is coming and is actually present, but in a hidden way.
First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11
He has sent me to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord
Commentary: The Book of Isaiah reflects the thoughts and prayers of Israel over at least two hundred years. The original prophet Isaiah was speaking in Jerusalem in 740BC. Further prophecies were added during the Babylonian Exile, and still more after the return from Exile. Through them all runs the promise that God will send his Spirit upon his Chosen One. In the first part comes the wonderful promise of a sevenfold Spirit which we always associate with Confirmation. In the dark days of the Exile came the prophecy of ‘my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have sent my Spirit upon him’, which is echoed at Jesus’ baptism. Now, after the return from Exile, comes the prophecy of the anointed one to whom the Spirit has been given so that he may heal. All these are fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus also gives his Spirit to his followers, and it is our task, as we live by the Spirit, to heal, to bring good news to the poor and to bind up hearts that are broken.
Responsorial Psalm: Luke 1:46-50,53-54
My soul rejoices in my God.
The response to the Isaiah reading, that builds on the prayer about the Anointed One, is the Magnificat, the prayer of Mary. As pregnant Mary contemplates what is happening to her, she rejoices in the presence of GOD in her life. Here she is; a young virgin who is with child, and not just any child. The One to Whom she will give birth is the Anointed One (Messiah, Christos) of GOD. She can only praise GOD for the way GOD works throughout history and particularly in her humble life. She has been open to GOD’s action, and she has been blessed with the privilege of giving birth to the long-awaited Messiah. She does not focus on her own importance for her own sake, but on her role in GOD’s plan of salvation, thus giving GOD all the glory and praise.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
May you all be kept safe for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
Commentary: Writing to the Thessalonians Paul gives his final blessing, asking that they may be kept safe for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are now waiting for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Paul means it in a very different sense. He was waiting for the coming of Christ at the end of the world, a triumphal procession in which we would join Christ ‘in the clouds’ as he presented the whole universe to his Father as God’s completed kingdom. We don’t see things in such dramatic, pictorial terms, but we do know that the whole universe is focused on God, and will reach its fulfilment only when his sovereignty is complete when the world has been transformed by God’s divine life in Christ. Paul himself, in 1 Corinthians 15, writes of the resurrection in much more personal terms: it is a personal transformation after the model of Christ’s own resurrection. We will be drawn into the sphere of God and in some new way share in his divinity, strong instead of weak, incorruptible instead of perishable, glorious instead of contemptible, given life by the Spirit of God.
Gospel: John 1:6-8,19-28
‘There stands among you the one coming after me’
Commentary: So, John the Baptist came as a witness to the light. In today’s gospel reading, he seems rather to refuse witness. He is quite negative, answering with a stalwart and repeated ‘No!’. He witnesses only ‘There is one standing among you whom you do not know’. It is not always easy to find Jesus. Through the Gospel of John there are misunderstandings about Jesus, as people fail to recognise him for what he is: the Samaritan at the well, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalen beside the empty tomb, even Peter and the disciples as they fish on the Lake. We can easily become so wrapped up in our own troubles and worries that we fail to recognise the one figure who can bring their solution, although he is standing among us, the one who ‘has the words of eternal life’. He may come to us in a way we do not like, as a corrective, blocking or diverting the way we had chosen. He may come as suffering, disappointment, failure, or bereavement. All of these may be acts of God’s love, to show us the way, though we cannot see it at the time. It is just like John the Baptist, saying steadily ‘No!’ until eventually we turn around and see Christ as our true light.
Reflection: Do you know the favor of the Lord? Every 50 years the people of Israel were commanded to celebrate a Year of Jubilee – a year of favor by the Lord (Lev 25:10-12). God did not want his people to forget all the blessings and favors he had shown them over the years. Isaiah prophesied in a year of Jubilee that God would send his anointed one to bring his people back from their time of exile (Isaiah 61). The anointed one would bring good news (the same word as “gospel”) – news of freedom for those who were oppressed by sin, darkness, despair, and brokenness (Isaiah 61:1-2).
John humbly recognized that his calling came from God and not from man
When John the Baptist announced the imminent coming of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, the religious leaders questioned his authority to speak so boldly in God’s name. They asked him bluntly, “Who are you?” and “What do you say about yourself?” They wanted to know if he was really sent by God. Did he claim to be the Messiah or one of the great prophets who was expected to return and announce the Messiah’s arrival (see Malachi 4:5, Deuteronomy 18:15)? John had no doubt and no mistaken identity about his call and mission. In all humility and sincerity, he said he was only a voice bidding people to get ready for the arrival of the greatest Ruler of all, God’s anointed King and Messiah.
John’s identity and our identity is derived from God’s Son – Jesus Christ
John the Baptist bridges the Old and New Testaments. He is the last of the Old Testament prophets who points the way to the Messiah. He is the first of the New Testament witnesses and martyrs. He is the herald who prepares the way for Jesus and who announces his mission to the people: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29). John saw from a distance what the Messiah would come to accomplish – our redemption from slavery to sin and our adoption as sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. Do you recognize who you are in Christ? The Lord Jesus has come to restore us to friendship with God and he has made us citizens of heaven – his everlasting kingdom of peace and justice.
Do you point others to Jesus Christ – the one true Lord and Savior of the world?
John was the greatest of the prophets, yet he lived as a humble and faithful servant of God. He pointed others to Jesus, the true Messiah and Savior of the world. The Christian church from the earliest of times has given John many titles which signify his mission: Witness of the Lord, Trumpet of Heaven, Herald of Christ, Voice of the Word, Precursor of Truth, Friend of the Bridegroom, Crown of the Prophets, Forerunner of the Redeemer, Preparer of Salvation, Light of the Martyrs, and Servant of the Word. Do you point others to Jesus Christ by the example and witness of your life?
Lord Jesus, make me a herald of your word of truth and grace. Help me to be a faithful witness of the joy of the Gospel and to point others to you as John did through his testimony.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The time of reckoning is the first advent of Christ, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
“Being God by nature, the Only Begotten [Jesus Christ the Son of the Father] is the Holy of Holies, and he sanctifies all creation and so originates from the Holy Father with the Holy Spirit proceeding from him and sending in the power from above to those on earth who recognize him. How was he sanctified? For he is God and man equally; he gives the Spirit to creation but receives the Spirit on account of being human…
“‘Acceptable’ is that year in which we were received, when we took kinship with him, having our sins washed away through holy baptism and becoming partakers of the divine nature through the sharing of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Or ‘acceptable’ is the year in which he revealed his glory through the divine miracle attesting the message. We received the time for salvation gladly… the day of reckoning is none other than the time of his dwelling among us in which the reckoning has been given by him to those believing in him through the promise in hope… For the Savior himself said, ‘Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of the world cast out’ (John 12:31). The time of reckoning, then, is in this manner, when Christ illuminated the world.” (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5.5.61.1-3)
HAPPINESS REACTS, JOY TRANSCENDS
“Rejoice always, pray constantly.” ––1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, RSV-CE
“Rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!” (Neh 8:10) These words are inspiring. Yet I often complain more than I rejoice. Thankfully, the Lord created us and is familiar with our limitations: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord” (Is 55:8).
We often mistakenly equate happiness with joy. Happiness, a fleeting emotion, is not the same as joy, an interior disposition. This is a challenge. But God’s grace is at work in our lives, so it’s not entirely beyond our grasp. Remember, St. Paul tells us that “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16).
Having the mind of Christ, look to Jesus for clues. “It was for this you were called since Christ suffered for you… and left you an example, to have you follow in His footsteps” (1 Pt 2:21). This is the key to understanding joy (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2015). Jesus, although eternally beloved of the Father, was “a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Is 53:3 RSV-CE). His obedience made His joy complete (see Jn 15:11; 17:13).
Think about the crucifixion. Jesus was not “happy” anticipating the cross. But emotions did not conquer His fidelity in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me; yet not My will but Yours be done” (Lk 22:42).
Follow Jesus, our obedient and joyful Savior. Father, turn me from following unreliable emotions to a joy rooted in You. “My spirit finds joy in God my Savior.” ––Lk 1:47. “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, You govern all creation with Your strong yet tender care.”
The personal action for today: Am I aware of not only the presents from GOD, but the presence of GOD in my life? How do I show that I can rejoice in what GOD is doing in my life? Is there some particular area in my life in which I could use a little more Spirit-led discernment? How can I be a better witness to the presence of the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One in my life and the lives of others?