Homily - Gaudete Sunday

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us twice to rejoice.  Ever since the first sin, humanity has been headed in one direction: eternal death.  Now we have the most awesome reason to rejoice: God sent us a savior to end the doom of death and give us an opportunity for eternal life.  We hear in another place in the New Testament:  The Father does not will the death of the sinner but rather that he be converted and live.  We rejoice in the Father’s gift of mercy.

Secondly, we rejoice in the grace of the Holy Spirit.  This joy overcomes any misery the world can throw at us.  And finally, we also rejoice in Christ’s presence.  He said he would be with us until the end of time.  If we call ourselves Christians, we believe it.  For example: It is very proper for us to rejoice in his real presence in the Eucharist.  We encounter the living God here today.  Has it become commonplace or do we remember to rejoice in it?  It is time to rejoice because God’s plan of salvation is underway.  The time of misfortune is over.  God is in our midst.  Can we rejoice in the impending coming of our savior?

In this season of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist once again.  He’s the one who preached the need of repentance.  Notice how much we need that repentance and conversion of heart.  We want a preacher who is gentle and focuses on God’s mercy, one who says: The way of salvation is broad and spacious.  But God sends us what we need, not what we want, a preacher who is severe, John the Baptist.  Reminding us that the way of salvation is narrow, and not always easy.

John gives us very concrete examples:  Generosity, Honesty, avoid being greedy.  Be faithful to the ordinary circumstances of life.  God is not asking us to be something we are not.  If we are a father, husband, wife, mother, electrician; he is telling us to be the best father, husband, wife, mother, electrician we can be.  This also shows us that God can be found in the ordinary circumstances of life.  And staying faithful to him, we rejoice in those.

John’s message continues.  He talks about the one coming after him who will separate the wheat from the chaff.  The wheat gets gathered into his barn and the chaff gets burned in the fire.  I think we know what that means.  This is a little more difficult to hear than a motivational speech that makes us feel good.

That’s not a popular message to the world.  We want to feel good and be told we are OK.  But giving in to sin means rejecting Jesus.  When we hold on to sin, we are saying:  I don’t need a savior.  I’m seeking fulfillment in my sins.  Advent is the time of the year to let go of sin.  Free ourselves from it.  Holding on to sin is like a drowning man holding on to lead weights.  But they’re such pretty lead weights.  They’re painted real nice.

This is a great time of year for us to ask ourselves:  What are the lead weights that are making me sink?  We get this great advent opportunity to ask ourselves if we are living like the wheat on the path to God’s barn or like the chaff on the path to the fire.  John the Baptist was blunt and no-nonsense.  The amazing thing is that the truth he preached was true then.  And it’s still true today.

Another thing that’s amazing is that John was so holy and authentic that people wondered if he was the Christ.  He is a great example for us.  We have the opportunity to ask ourselves as we prepare to meet the Lord:  Am I living in such a way that people might confuse me with the Christ? We are called to take on the holiness and authenticity of John the Baptist.  And if someone asks us:  Are you the Christ?  We simply say what John said:  No, one mightier than I is coming.