[Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Psalm [Isaiah] 12; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18]

Normally I see the Old Testament pointing towards what happens in the New Testament, but in today’s Gospel from St Luke we have advice from John the Baptist on how we can get to see the joy which Zephaniah was prophesying. If we can share whatever we have in surplus with those who have needs, then God will rejoice.  Those spare coats we have, the spare cash we have, the spare time we have, we are called to use these gifts; which after all came from God in the first place; to serve God by loving our brothers and sisters. This is challenging, and rightly so.  Prophets come to disturb.  John the Baptist’s voice cries out to us from 2,000 years ago; do we really need a coat that matches our outfit when our brother or our sister is cold on the street?

Our readings allow us to pause our Advent preparations for a moment, but there is also a reminder that when Jesus comes again, He will come to judge

Our first reading is upbeat, with the prophet Zephaniah exclaiming joy and urging everyone to celebrate. Why does he want everyone to be so happy?  God has repealed their sentence and has driven their enemies away.  God the mighty King of Israel is in their midst, they needn’t fear evil anymore.  He will exult with joy over you He will renew you by his love, God will dance with joy for us, such is his great love for us.  What an image this conjures up; God being so delighted with us that He dances with joy.

The psalm this week is taken from the prophet Isaiah, and the joy continues – we are called to sing and shout for joy because great in our midst is the Holy One of Israel. As Catholics we should be singing, shouting and dancing all the time because we have in our midst the Holy One of Israel.  Christ left us His permanent Presence in the Eucharist, Jesus Present at every Mass, in every tabernacle.  Rejoice and again I say rejoice!

St Paul continues the joyful theme when he tells the Philippians that he desires for them to be happy.  He calls for them to be tolerant and content with their lot, not to envy their brother, if they have needs then pray to God; offer God prayer and thanksgiving. 

How have we prayed and offered thanksgiving to God this week? 

Has it been an easy week to be thankful? 

We also need to ask ourselves, the same question the people asked John the Baptist – “What must we do?”  Every one of us will have a different answer when we ask ourselves that question.  The focus in Advent is a reminder that we need to be ready when the Lord comes again.  So, our response to this question must not be to wait until tomorrow, we are called to respond today, because tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.

I am in the process of retiring from my job. For those that don’t know I have been working part time for the past few years in addition to my vocation as a deacon. My hope is that I will be able to spend more time with my family as well as being able to support the Pastoral Area more in my ministry. At the moment, for me, retirement is a little bit like Advent. There is slight trepidation at the unknowns going forward, with still lots of planning and preparation to complete. There is a joy that my time at work is coming to an end. But most of all there is hope that something better is yet to come.

At this time of the year, the Church reminds us to take time out to prepare, our society prepares for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, as do we, but we, as Christians, are called to prepare for a greater celebration. We are called to prepare for the certainty that Jesus will come again, and we pray that we are not found wanting when that day comes.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Third Sunday of Advent

CCC 30, 163, 301, 736, 1829, 1832, 2015, 2362: joy
CCC 523-524, 535: John prepares the way for the Messiah
CCC 430-435: Jesus the Saviour

Please keep in your prayers this week

  • The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
  • Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
  • The continued fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
  • The Basingstoke Winter Night Shelter as it continues to support the homeless in our town.
  • The success of Las Posadas in the Pastoral Area.
  • For all children and teachers/support assistants, that they enjoy their last week of the school term and that they all enjoy a peace and joy filled break over Christmas.

Deacon Tony

13th December 2024