The Third Sunday of Advent [A]
Fr. Drew Hoffman
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 + James 5:7-10 + Matthew 11:2-11
Someone once told me, “What’s the point of running long distances if you don’t tell anyone about it?” While I’m not usually a runner, that logic makes sense to me, so I’ll mention that I recently ran the 10 mile Turkey Trot in downtown Wichita. I had not run that distance in over a decade, so I was truly nervous about the run and whether I would even finish. I was amazed at the energy I received from the crowds lining the streets throughout the run! Every time a stranger held up a sign or cheered me on, I received some needed confidence to keep going. What’s more, many of my friends, family members, and students at St. Paul could sense my anxiety and showed up to give me a boost. The steady reminder that the finish line is near and it is worth it was exactly what I needed to run the race well.
The same principle applies in our spiritual lives! St. Paul compares our journey of Faith to a race and encourages us to run so as to win. But we are often worn out and discouraged by the experience. This can particularly happen during our Advent preparations. The Church wisely gives us four weeks to prepare for the grand celebration of the birth of our Savior. But why can’t we just celebrate now? Everything in our society tells us that Christmas is already here. Whether it’s Hallmark movies, holiday ads, or Christmas music, it feels like we’ve already reached the special day. Can’t we just give in and pretend it is already Christmas day?
We can learn something from the preparation of little children for Christmas. For kids, everything leading up to Christmas day is preparatory… they count down the days, they guess what’s in their wrapped boxes, and they make sure they are on the nice list. Christmas Day is the grand celebration, when they can finally open their presents and play with their toys. For them, Christmas is just the beginning… the following weeks are opportunities for celebration and taking advantages of the blessings of Christmas Day.
How different this is from our experience! Christmas is usually the end of our celebrations, when we can finally take a deep breath and be done with all the festivities. December 26th is a welcome reprieve where we don’t have to think about Christmas anymore. When we don’t take Advent seriously, Christmas quickly becomes a burden, a continuous celebration that ends with a crash.
This is why the Church gives us the blessing of Advent. To enter deeply into Advent allows Christmas to be an actual celebration! This is why the Church makes this 3rd Sunday of Advent “Gaudete” Sunday, where we light the rose candle on the Advent Wreath and wear a different colored vestment at Mass. The Church anticipates that we’re taking Advent seriously and preparing our hearts for Christmas day. She knows this is difficult, so she gives us a day amid our preparations to take a deep breath. In the Gospel we receive the image of John the Baptist wondering whether Jesus is the one or should they look for another. He’s been preparing for Jesus but is starting to wonder whether it was all worth it! Jesus promises him that it is! Our First Reading begs us to be strong and fear not, and our Second Reading begs that we be patient and compares our preparations with a farmer who plants seeds and believes that eventually it will pay off. Preparing for the Lord is worth it!
As I ran my race, receiving the encouragement of those along the way gave me the courage to finish strong, certain that the finish line was worth the hard work. May this 3rd Sunday of Advent grant us the hope and confidence that delving deeply into our Advent preparations is well worth it and will allow us to celebrate Christmas Day in a more magnificent way!