Sunday 12 December

Third Sunday of Advent

We are at the midpoint of Advent. Today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. The principal theme of the day is joy. According to Paul, joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22). Such joy is a religious sentiment, not emotional happiness. Along with gratitude, it is the heart’s response to God’s goodness. Zion is told to shout for joy because it has been saved by God from its enemies and because God is in the midst of the people. The psalm response proclaims the same message; the reading from Philippians announces that the Lord is near. This is cause for joy.

Advent is a time for joy, not primarily because we are anticipating the anniversary of the birth of Christ, but because God is already in our midst (Immanuel). The readings for this Sunday assure us that God is with us, not as a judge but as a Saviour. We rejoice over the saving acts of God that make us confident of God’s care and unafraid of whatever may cross our paths. We rejoice in the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Advent joy is like the delight that fills a woman who has just given birth, even if it occurred in the throes of birth pangs.  Advent joy springs from the realisation that the presence of God in our midst can so transform our lives that the promises of peace and security will be fulfilled. Advent joy is the way we live in the tension between already and not yet.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

Sunday 19 December

Fourth Sunday of Advent

There is always excitement at this time of the year. It is as if everything is filled with promise. Animosities are set aside; estrangement dissolves into reconciliation; the whole world seems gentler; and we are filled with the spirit of generosity. In the days just before Christmas, the possibility of newness is almost palpable. The spirit of the season has caught hold of us even before the actual day has arrived. Today we stand on the threshold of fulfilment. The future that God has prepared for us is open before us, even though we have not yet stepped out into it.

The incarnation takes place in human history, thus affirming the fundamental goodness of human life and concerns, and sanctifying them even further. The child comes from simple people, from a place that is relatively insignificant, thus underscoring God’s preference for what is ordinary. The body that was offered for our salvation, the body that consecrated us through having been offered up, was the body that grew in the womb of Mary. The extraordinary salvific deed of God was accomplished through his coming into the world as one of us. The obedience that Christ played out through his body fulfilled for us the promises made by God.

We stand on the threshold of fulfilment, the fulfilment of an event that has already taken place. We ritually reenact it so that we never take it for granted, so that we never forget that it is in and through human history that the marvellous deeds of God are accomplished.

© Dianne Bergant CSA