Deacon Kevin Gingras
December 15th
Third Sunday of Advent
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121524.cfm
Zep 3:14-18a Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6.
Today is Gaudete Sunday, and we are almost there, less than two weeks away from remembering the day the Word became Flesh!
John the Baptist is telling his followers:
one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Gaudete is Latin for rejoice as our entrance antiphon reminds us:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.
The prophet Zephaniah speaks of rejoicing and being filled with joy - why?
the LORD is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear … he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.
We are in the season of Advent that should take us spiritually back over two thousand years, before Jesus was born - back to a time of waiting, waiting for our salvation, our Messiah, however, we also know the rest of the story and that is what should bring us joy.
We decorated the inside of our houses, and put up our trees, the manger, and lights on the outside and all over the yard. We are cleaning in preparation for our guests (if you are anything like me that involves multiple days of work) so all of our exterior work is moving along nicely, at least at my house. What about the interior work that needs to be done to prepare the way of the Lord, how is that going?
We must prepare our hearts, and our souls as well right? Remember Jesus was born but also remember he died for us and our sins. Let me explain visually what I want to say using what I like to call: “The theology of the Holy Family Sanctuary”. This is where we can visually see Jesus in his three most vulnerable places. (See picture above for what our Sanctuary looks like)
First - the stained glass window above it all, Jesus as a child with Holy Mary and St. Joseph. He is the King of the Universe yet came to us as a small baby, vulnerable and reliant on parents who were not wealthy but poor. Mary conceived through the Holy Spirit and became the Ark of the New Covenant. Her husband Joseph a righteous man but not the biological father had to be told in a dream that all was well, there was no need to divorce Mary:
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home, for it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.
The Gospel of Matthew tells us Joseph did as the Lord had commanded. He took in Mary and became the protector of the Blessed Mother and Jesus, the son of God.
Second - Just below we see Jesus on the cross. He could have stopped the torture he endured at any time if He wanted as we see in the Gospel of John:
Jesus answered [to Pilate], “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
Jesus’ kingdom is not here on Earth, His kingdom is a Heavenly kingdom yet he took on our humanity and took on our sins head-on, with the sacrifice of his own life. The sins of Adam and Eve which brought death and suffering into the world were atoned for by Jesus suffering and death on the cross. A death he tolerated by making himself completely vulnerable to his accusers. In the end, Jesus even won the battle over death itself.
Third - Lastly we have the altar here. The altar itself is not how Jesus becomes vulnerable but it is where he becomes vulnerable in the Eucharist. The King of kings allows himself to be kept in this earthly host, this simple and humble bread. Due to the ontological change of all priests during their ordination and the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the priest now has a supernatural power, he becomes Christ Himself, or “in persona Christi”, during the consecration and changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Once this happens we need to treat the Eucharist with the care and respect Jesus deserves and do everything in our power to avoid sacrilege or the mistreatment of Jesus in the Eucharist because in this simple host that was once bread Jesus is again very vulnerable.
So this Advent we need to become vulnerable for Jesus. I tend to organize my life into boxes. I have a dad box, a husband box, a deacon box, and an employee box, and within those boxes, I have many other boxes as well. This advent, to prepare the way of the Lord we need to open up all those boxes and find out what ones we haven’t let Jesus into. Perhaps it’s certain boxes we have family in? Most certainly for me, it’s a lot of my work boxes where I don’t let Jesus in. Spend some time in adoration, before Jesus, and ask him to shine a light into the boxes of our life where we have left him out. Pray about how we can open ourselves, and make ourselves vulnerable by allowing Him, the King of the Universe and the King of our hearts, into those spaces by making our entire lives open to Jesus this year. Get ready when you do this, things will change, and they will change for the better!
When feeling vulnerable as we open our minds, hearts, and souls for Christ, as we reflect on all the good and the bad, remember the words of Saint John Paul II:
We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of the Father’s love for us.
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