It's Gaudete Sunday!

It’s the 3rd Sunday of Advent and our gospel reading is still about the preaching of John the Baptizer. This time we turn to Luke 3:10-18.

“The crowds asked [John the Baptist], “What then should we do? 11 He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”

14 Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” 15 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.

16 John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but 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. 17 His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.”

The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also dubbed by the Catholic Church as “Gaudete Sunday”. Even the Anglicans, the Lutherans and other Liturgical Protestant Churches celebrate Gaudete Sunday. This word comes from the Latin “Gaude” which is translated as “Rejoice” this is why today’s gospel reading gives us a hint of the joyous anticipation of the Jews many of whom believe that the Messiah as foretold in Isaiah was indeed forthcoming and many people thought that John the Baptist was the man.

But John the Baptist was merely the solitary voice in the wilderness asking people to repent and make straight the paths of the one who is coming after him. He is the precursor of the Messiah and in fact, even his preaching is very similar to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When the Jews asked John, “What then should we do? He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Jesus also taught the same things to give to the poor, the naked and the hungry. Didn’t Jesus get Matthew a Tax Collector to be part of his inner circle called the Disciples?

But like what we wrote last Sunday, John the Baptist knew his role in life very well. When the crowd asked him a direct question whether he was the Messiah that was to come, John the Baptist told them the truth, “I am baptizing you with water, but 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.” John said this when he was already becoming so popular, he could very well have said that he was the Messiah. But as we know, John the Baptist was God’s messenger of the good news and he wouldn’t tell a lie.

In John 1:29-31 John testified about Jesus saying, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me. I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” We know that when our Lord Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her cousin Elizabeth was carrying the baby John the Baptist in her womb for six months already. So how could John the Baptist say ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me. This could only mean that John knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

In John 3: 22-30, “Jesus and his disciples went to Judea and spent some time baptizing. John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John replied, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom, the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine must be made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”

So for the coming of Christmas Day, our Lord Jesus Christ must increase in our lives, while we must decrease just like what John the Baptist said. This is an act of sacrifice for us… that we ought not to think of ourselves, but only think of Jesus. When we love someone, we give them more importance than our own selves. So let us love Jesus more for this Christmas!

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