The Third Sunday in Advent ( Gaudete Sunday )

Friends in Christ,

Are you one of those people who are so impatient for Christmas, that they sneak around the house, looking for idden presents ? Children often look into closets until they find a few, they then shake them and hope to discover what is in the parcels. They just cannot wait.

Well I think that is the spirit of the Third Sunday of Advent, ' Gaudete Sunday ' as it is sometimes called. The word comes from Latin and means ' Rejoyce' . The original hearers of Zephaniah's prophecy ( Zeph 3:14-18a) must have gone wild with joy as he told them that the Lord has removed his original harsh judgement against them. This ordinary gloomy prophet now urges them to rejoyce and shout for joy, for God in their midst.

Blessed Saint Paul speaks in similar terms to the Phillippians ( Phil 4:4-7) as he urges them to always rejoice, for the Lord's coming is close at hand. Emmanuel - there it is again, God is with us.

Is it not time in our journey towards eternal life that we take to heart those words which we have heard every Advent of our lives ? If we really have not taken this truth to hear, then, we cannot really stir up much reason for joy, especially as Christmas draws near. We are often far more present to the media news reports of murders, rapes, and the horrors of war than we are to the greath truth that God delivers in the midst of people, including our family and collegues. Do we really want to see God? Then we must look into the eyes of our neighbor. If we do not see love there, then we must give them our loving smile. Thisdaily exercise of finding God in others is the key to a good preparation for another coming of Jesus ito our sad, sad world this Christmas. It is indeed time to stir up our faith, that, as it really happened two thousand years ago, it is really happening again in 2006.

It is later than we think. As we rejoyce with the Church today, let us focus on prayer, a good confession, and a well planned resolution to make Christ's coming this year the best one of our lives.

Amen.

Ed Bakker