BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (#3)
Third Sunday of Advent, Year B

 

"Our Joy in the Lord"

 

Bible READINGS

Is 61:1-2s, 10-11;  // I Thes 5:16-24 // Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

 

 

I . BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS

In 1977 when I was assigned in our religious community in Cebu City in the Philippine, I read an article about a Catholic nun working among the poorest of the poorest in the slums of Calcutta.  Her name was Mother Theresa.  I was fascinated by her personal dedication and exemplary lifestyle.  I was awed by her unconditional love and service for the poor.  One day it was announced that this remarkable missionary of charity would be in the city to give a talk at a local orphanage.  I wanted to see her in person.  And so I went to the orphanage to get a glimpse of this enigmatic heroine.  I was one of the early comers and to my pleasant surprise, Mother Theresa was at the lobby greeting the guests.  When I approached her, she looked kindly into my eyes as I timidly extended my hand to her for a handshake.  As I shook hands with her, there was warmth and goodness radiating from her.  Her wrinkled face exuded inner beauty, serenity and profound joy.  And when she gave her personal testimony with a limpid and captivating voice that touched the hearts of us all, I perceived what it means to be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord for the mission of bringing glad tidings to the poor.  Mother Theresa of Calcutta who received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1981, is a living example of one who has truly lived the Good News and bore witness to her joy in the Lord.

On this Third Sunday of Advent, which is traditionally known as the Gaudete Sunday or "Sunday of Rejoicing", the tone of joy pervades the liturgical celebration of the Church.  According to the late Benedictine liturgy professor, Adrian Nocent, "the new element on this Third Sunday, the element that gives the day its special tone, is the JOY that fills him/her who has been sent to proclaim salvation."

In the reading from Third Isaiah, the joy-giving mission of the Messiah is depicted with lyrical beauty and poetry:  "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God"  (Is 61:1-2).  The Christian tradition has seen in this prophetic passage the figure of the Messiah long expected, Jesus the anointed One.  The prophetic passage delineates, moreover, in terms of nuptial imagery, the salvific experience and joy that would result from the messianic intervention of the consecrated one:  "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels" (Is 61:10-11).  The bride Jerusalem celebrates the fulfillment of love between herself and Yahweh, and this fruitful love is expressed poetically as the earth bringing forth its plants and a garden with its fresh growth.  The recipients of the messianic mission are the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the prisoners and those who mourn.  The first, the poor or the anawim, encapsulates all the others.  The anawim are people bowed down in helplessness and dire need, acknowledging the benevolent kindness of Yahweh whose help they humbly seek and await.  The salvific intervention of God in their behalf through the prophetic, healing, liberating and consoling mission of the spirit-filled Messiah results in abounding joy and exultation.

Mary of Nazareth, the privileged representative of the anawim and of the church, expresses her joy and exultation in a canticle of praise, a fascinating tapestry of biblical memories of God's predilection for his chosen people.  Mary's canticle becomes the canticle of the church, the new people of Israel and the beloved Bride of Christ, the Servant of Yahweh.  The singing of the Magnificat on Gaudete Sunday reinforces the character of joy that the church receives as a gift from the anointing spirit of Jesus.  Indeed, the Church of the poor - the anawim Church, is anointed by the Spirit of the Lord.  The anointing and creative Spirit nourishes its desire for newness and holiness of life.  The life-giving Spirit thus enables the community of believers to "be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thes 5:23).  The Church is therefore never to quench the Spirit outpoured on the Christian believers in the sacraments, which are signs of Christ's paschal mystery.  Moreover, the Church in Advent expectation for the definitive coming of the Lord Jesus on the last day is a Eucharistic Church full of praise and thanksgiving.  Since it is totally receptive to the action of the Holy Spirit and gifts, including the gift of joy, the Church can rejoice in the Lord always.

The Gospel passage (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28) read in today's liturgy is a composite text taken from the Prologue of St. John (Jn 1:6-8) and the section depicting the first week of the messianic ministry in which the identity of Jesus is gradually revealed (Jn 1:19-2:11).  John the Baptist, described by the evangelist as sent by God, is presented as an instrument of messianic revelation and as a witness of the true light, Jesus Christ.  As forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist is the precursor of joy.  Indeed, in his ministry of preparing the way of the Lord, he experiences the selfless joy of the bridegroom's friend, as may be gleaned from the following affirmation:  "I myself am not the Christ.  I am the one who has been sent in front of him.  The bride is only for the bridegroom, and yet the bridegroom's friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice.  The same JOY I feel, and now it is complete."  Cf. Jn 3:28-29.  John the Baptist, in his ministry as the Messiah's precursor participates in the nuptial joy of Christ and his bride, the Church.

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART

  1. Do we believe that each one of us, by virtue of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation, is anointed by the Spirit to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to prisoners...?

  2. How do we enflesh the Eucharistic character and the joy-bearing mission of the church today?

  3. How do we witness to the world that the Messiah, anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to bring glad tidings to the poor, is already with us and at work in us?  How do we share with others the nuptial joy of Christ and his Body, the Church?

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD

The following sacred text is a living word to nourish us through the week.  Please memorize it.

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted..." (Is 61:1)

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION

  1. ACTION PLAN A: "Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks...”  List three events in your life that have brought joy.  Pray and give thanks to the Lord for these.

  2. ACTION PLAN B: "He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor...”  List three categories of people that direly need the glad tidings of our Lord Jesus.  Pray in a special way that the Lord may give you the grace to share the Gospel with them.

 

 

Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang  PDDM

 

 

 

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SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER

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