December 15, 2024 – The Third Sunday of Advent [YEAR C]
Fr. Drew Hoffman
I LOVE Christmas music. I know some will argue that the liturgical season of Christmas doesn’t begin until Christmas Day and that listening to Christmas music in early December limits the importance of Advent. Even so, I soak up all the Christmas music I can get, in part because many of the traditional Christmas songs can teach us something vital about our upcoming celebrations. For example, O Come All Ye Faithful tells us that people are “joyful and triumphant” at their arrival in Christ’s birth town of Bethlehem. O Come O Come Emmanuel implores the people to “rejoice, rejoice” because captive Israel is ransomed. Joy to the World expresses the inherent excitement of the reign of the new Savior. It isn’t often that religious truth is so blatantly and openly expressed to the masses.
This is perhaps best expressed in the famous God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. While the gentlemen celebrate “tidings of comfort and joy,” they don’t do so because of some vague Christmas season or a generic hope for friendship amongst mankind. No, they have comfort and joy because Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” We celebrate on Christmas not because the power of the season will get me through another year, but because Jesus Christ has entered the battle against my ancient enemy, Satan. While modern Christmas songs gloss over this, the traditional hymns highlight that it is the Son of God entering the fight that leads to the joy of the season.
It is for this reason that the priest wears pink, or rose, on this third Sunday of Advent. Known as “Gaudete,” (rejoice) Sunday, the pink candle in the Advent Wreath is a reminder of the explosive power of the season. We receive reminders of the reason for this joy all throughout the readings this weekend, and it is always connected with the presence of the Savior. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all…Cry out with joy and gladness; for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel…The Lord is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. Yes, this is a season joy and celebration, but only because Jesus Christ has become a human to save us from “Satan’s power.” Our modern world attributes all the joy of this season to some generic good feeling that comes this time of year. Nothing could be less helpful or further from the truth. Christmas is only a season of celebration because Jesus Christ has entered the arena against His ancient enemy, and we know who comes out on top.
What comes next for us? The great C.S. Lewis touches on this in his magnificent Mere Christianity: “Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” Jesus Christ was born on a dark, lonely night in Bethlehem, behind enemy lines, and now is ready to fight the ancient evil. This deserves a grand celebration. But He has invited me into the fight, into the sabotage against the ancient enemy who had reign over the earth since Adam and Eve. Yes, this season brings rejoicing, leads to us being joyful and triumphant, and grants us comfort and joy. But we still have a role in the fight. The pink candle and vestment invite me into the great battle, where the Word became flesh and “saved us all from Satan’s power.” Between now and Christmas, what do I need to do to more fully enter the battle? Invite someone to Confession or Mass? Get myself to Confession? Be generous with someone in need? Whatever the case may be, may our celebrations this weekend and this entire season lead us into greater appreciation for the Word Made Flesh and our entry into the battle next to Him.