THIRD SUNDAY AT ADVENT – YEAR C
JOY: A GIFT TO BE WELCOMED
What does a person ask of life, if not happiness? The Hebrew Bible employs something like twenty-seven synonyms to express feelings of joy. Nothing is more contrary to the Bible, then, than the religion of sorrow, of mourning, of the frowning faces that we sometimes see in our Sunday assemblies. But how can we achieve joy? Is wealth, good health, success enough? Who can be considered genuinely blessed?
To this question, the Israelites of ancient times answered: happy is the one who enjoys the fruits of his field (Is 9:2), who rejoices in wine (Jas 9:13), who has a united family (Deut 12:7) and numerous offspring (1 Sam 2:1,5); happy are the people who achieve a military victory (1 Sam 18:6), who contemplate their city rebuilt (Ne 12:43), who celebrate with hymns, music and dance the abundant harvests that God has granted them (Deut 16:11,14). All this—we know—is not enough.
With our wealth and technologies, trickery, and efforts, we can achieve happiness, good humor, euphoria, hilarity, pleasure, fun, but no joy. This is the fruit of the Spirit, and we can only welcome it as a gift. We can, however, put obstacles in our way: today's readings will help us identify them so we can remove them.
"Hallelujah, the God of joy comes among us."
First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
“Woe to the rebellious, the defiled, the city that oppresses .... Her kings are like roaring lions, her rulers like evening wolves .... Her prophets are blabbermouths and treacherous .... Her priests defile whatever is sacred with no respect for the Law” (Zep 3:1-4). So begins the third chapter of the book of Zephaniah, from which our reading is taken.
We are in one of the most challenging moments in Israel's history. Everyone in Jerusalem is corrupt: the king, the priests, the prophets, and the judges; the people have abandoned the faith and betrayed their God.
What to do in such a situation? Zephaniah has no alternative: he begins to threaten catastrophes. The first words he pronounces, in the name of the Lord, are: “I will wipe out everything from the face of the earth. I will put an end to humans and animals .... I will wipe humankind from the face of the earth” (Zep 1:2-3). Then he continues: the day of punishment is coming, "a day of wrath, of anguish, of affliction, of ruin, of extermination, of darkness, of gloom, of clouds, of darkness, of trumpet blasts and alarms" (Zep 1:15-16) and continues this tone until almost the end of his book. Then, suddenly, here is the prophecy contained in our reading.
“Cry out with joy .... Sing joyfully with all your heart!” (v. 14), “do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble!” (v. 16). The change of tone is as evident as it is unexpected and inexplicable. How is it that the prophet moves from threats to an invitation to joy, serenity, and trust? What has happened? What has changed in Jerusalem? Have the people converted, changed their lives, done penance? No. The reason is another: the Lord has revoked the condemnation. Jerusalem will not be punished, will not be seized by any misfortune (v. 15). She has been an unfaithful bride—it is true—she has betrayed her God, but He will not turn her away from him forever. He will "renew her with his love" (v. 17),and she will be beautiful again as a young girl, she will become the consolation of her husband who will be happy with her, "he will exult with joy...he will rejoice with shouts of joy" (vv.17-18).
What about the threatened punishments? It is clear from this text what the day of God's wrath consists of. It is not the moment in which he loses patience, becomes angry at the wickedness of people, and decides to punish them; it is the day in which He finally succeeds in making his love triumph.
God's wrath is not directed against the sinner but sin. God performs only works of salvation. The prophet Zephaniah, who lived when his people were close to ruin, announced the victory of God's love over sin and the radical transformation of the social, political, and religious situation. This is the reason why he invites all the poor of the country to rejoice.
This prophecy is important because Luke uses it to describe the annunciation to Mary. The expressions: ‘Rejoice, do not be afraid, the Lord is within you’ are the same as the angel addresses Mary. The evangelist uses them again to tell us that the prophecy was fulfilled when the Son of God took our mortal form in Mary. In Jesus of Nazareth, God indeed came to dwell among his people, brought salvation, and the fullness of joy with it.
Fear can positively affect our lives: it signals the dangerous effects of foolish choices, suggests thoughtfulness, and induces wisdom. Zephaniah also resorted to threats; he did so to expose his people's moral misery and warn of the disasters that would ensue.
But there is a fear that causes only anguish and phobias, that introduces into a negative and pessimistic view of life, that leads to depression, that makes one fall back on remorse and gives a glimpse of a vigilante God who awaits man for a reckoning. This fear plays into the hands of atheists and unbelievers who incite abandoning this faith that blocks growth and prevents people’s realization and happiness.
Healthy is only the fear that comes from the perception, clear and immediate, of the negative consequences of the choices of sin. However, for it to be of help, it must be placed within God's plan of salvation, it must be accompanied and sustained by the firm conviction that God's love will prevail in any case, and it must—as today's reading suggests—always lead to joy.
Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
When he writes to the community in Philippi, Paul is in Ephesus. He is in prison because of the Gospel and would have every reason to be sad and discouraged. Instead, in his letter, the invitation to joy returns like a refrain. An invitation that appears the first time after the Apostle has mentioned his condition as a prisoner: "Even if I were to give my life for your faith," he tells the Philippians, "I would be glad and rejoice in it, in the same way that you also enjoy it and rejoice with me" (Phil 2:17-18). In the remainder of the letter, he sets out his apostolic plans and then takes up the theme of joy: "My brothers, rejoice in the Lord!" (Phil 3:1). Finally, here is the even more explicit and insistent exhortation, taken up in today's reading: "Rejoice in the Lord always; I repeat to you again, rejoice!" (v .4).
What is the reason for the Philippians' joy? Not success in life, good health, good economic performance, the absence of worries (Paul and the Philippians had as many as we do today), but the certainty that ‘the Lord is near.’ This is the thought that accompanies the Christian and makes him affable, kind, generous to all (v. 5).
Faith gives the certainty that everything that happens does not escape God's plan and, therefore, everything will end well. Whoever is animated by this trust never despairs, never lets himself be taken by anxiety or disturbed by anguish but exposes his every need in prayer (v. 6). From this union with God obtains peace as a gift.
Gospel: Luke 3:10-18
"You race of vipers, who has taught you to flee from the coming wrath? The ax is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Lk 3:7,9). It is with these stern words that John welcomes those who come to him to be baptized. He may be correct, but his threats certainly do not sound like ‘good news,’ and neither are they in harmony with the theme of joy that characterizes this Sunday's readings.
"Do works worthy of conversion!" —he repeats to the crowds (Lk 3:8). All right, but what are these works? The simple people to whom he addresses himself expect clear proposals, not abstract and general speeches.
In the first part of today's Gospel (vv. 10-14), three groups of people appear—ordinary people, tax collectors, soldiers—who go to the Baptist for concrete indications. This is a ternary pattern of questions and answers that present exemplary situations (cf. Lk 9:57-62). It is a literary device that invites us to apply the ascetic principle indicated by the Baptist to other similar cases.
The question, "What shall we do?" is repeated several times in Luke's work (Acts 2:37; 16:30; 22:10). It indicates the complete willingness to accept God's will on the part of those who realize they have gone astray, are determined to change their lives, and ask for guidance on the path to take.
Let's imagine that some of us, wishing to prepare well for Christmas, ask this same question of those we consider ‘experts’ in the religious field (the catechist, the pastoral worker, the nun, the priest). What would they answer?
Some would suggest helping a brother or sister in difficulty or visiting a sick person, but we would also get other answers: ‘Recite the rosary every day’; ‘Say three Salve Regina before you go to sleep’; ‘Go to confession’... This is good advice, mind you, but the Baptist does not choose this path. He does not suggest anything specifically ‘religious.’ he does not recommend devotional practices or penitential ceremonies (imposition of ashes, fasting, prayers, and spiritual retreats in the desert). He demands something very concrete: a radical revision of one's life starting from the ethical principle of love for one's brothers and sisters.
To the people, he says: "Whoever has two tunics should give one to those who have none, and whoever has food should do the same" (vv. 10-11). Last Sunday, the Baptist invited us to review our relationship with God if we want to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He called for a change in thinking and acting to have forgiveness of sins (Lk 1:3). Today he focuses on the new relationship that must be established with one's neighbor. Love, solidarity, sharing, removal of inequalities, and abuses of power are the keywords of his discourse.
One certainly cannot accuse the Baptist of a lack of clarity. Prayers and devotions are fine if they do not turn into alibis if they are not used as expedients to escape the call to share goods with those most in need. We gladly gather to pray, to sing. Still, when we are asked to make available to our brothers and sisters the goods we possess... all our religious enthusiasm suddenly vanishes. Yet, the Baptist is still ‘sympathetic’ to human weakness. He says, ‘If you have two tunics, give one to the one who has none.’ From his disciples, Jesus will demand even more: "Whoever takes away your cloak, give him your tunic as well!" (Lk 6:29).
Later, the tax collectors present themselves to John. They are those who exercise the profession most hated by the people: they collect taxes and are collaborators with the oppressive system of the Romans. They enrich themselves by extorting money from the weakest and most defenseless. The Baptist does not ask them to change their profession but not take advantage of their trade to exploit the poorest.
Perhaps we think we have nothing to do with this profession. Instead—we must admit it—we behave like ‘tax collectors’ when, for example, having reached a position of prestige, we demand very high fees for our services, perhaps claiming as justification: ‘These are the established rates.’
The tax collector is the symbol of those who handle money in a ‘casual’ way;someone who buys and sells without scruples, thinking only of his advantage; someone who, with clever deception, can cheat simple people, who evade taxes, who hacks the State, who takes advantage of the naivety of the poor to exploit him and get rich. Those who behave like ‘tax collectors’ certainly cannot prepare for Christmas with just a few prayers.
The last to ask the Baptist for advice are the soldiers. We would expect John to advise them to take off their uniforms, throw down their weapons immediately, and refuse to fight. But even here, he shows himself to be ‘tolerant.’ Jesus will be more radical and will forbid any recourse to violence. He will say to the disciple: "Do not oppose evil with evil, but if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek as well" (Mt 5:39).
The soldiers of that time were poorly paid, so what did they do? With weapons in their hands, they took advantage of their strength to beat people up, harass women, extort money, and impose harsh and humiliating services on the weakest, harass poor farmers, and force them to carry loads. The Baptist asks them not to mistreat anyone and to be content with their wages. Soldiers are the symbol of those who can abuse their strength, those who take advantage of the position they occupy, of the profession they have. Those who dominate and overpower the weakest behave like ‘soldiers’ (of that time, of course) and are invited to review their behavior if they want to prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord.
The Baptist resumes his apparently harsh, rigorous, almost intolerant language in the second part of the Gospel (vv. 15-18). He speaks of separating the good wheat from the chaff and threatens its destruction in the unquenchable fire. He seems to leave sinners no room to rejoice: a terrible judgment of God awaits them, he assures them, and is imminent.
The evangelist ends the harsh speech of John with a surprising sentence: "With these and many other words of consolation he proclaimed the good news to the people" (v. 18).
You have understood well: words of consolation (this is the correct translation of the verb parakaleo). For Luke the Baptist's message is good news; it is happy news, it is the promise of a happy event. John's way of expressing himself perhaps does not conform to our current sensitivity; it is neither sweet nor tender, yet he wants to communicate joy and hope. If we consider the text carefully, we verify that he does not promise any punishment from God; he only speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit and of the fire that will annihilate the chaff.
Water cleanses, but it can also kill; it can submerge and drown. When he immersed those who came to be baptized by him in the Jordan River, John performed an act that signified cleansing from the stains of sin and death to the past life. Nothing more. His was an imperfect, incomplete baptism—and of this, the forerunner was perfectly aware. He knew that the water he employed was an external bath. To become lifeblood, water must be absorbed by plants, drunk, and assimilated by animals and humans.
The baptism of Jesus is not water that cleanses the outside; it is water that penetrates inside, revives, and transforms. It is water that becomes in those who drink it "a spring that gushes forth to eternal life" (Jn 4:14). It is his Spirit; it is the power of God that transforms the old man into a new creature. It is the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy: “I shall pour pure water over you and you shall be made clean—cleansed from the defilement of all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put my spirit within you and move you to follow my decrees and keep my laws” (Ezk 36:25-27).
At this point, the image of fire also becomes clear. Jesus himself would later speak of it: “I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled” (Lk 12:49). It is not the fire prepared to punish unrepentant sinners. The only fire that God knows is the one brought to earth by Jesus; it is the Spirit that renews the face of the earth (Ps 104:1). He will come down from heaven at Pentecost (Acts 2:3) and will unite people in one language, that of love. This will be the fire that will purify the world from all evil, that will eradicate every ‘chaff.’
Therefore, it is not sinners who should fear the coming of Christ, but sin, whose destruction is announced. Sinners should only rejoice because for them has come the liberation from the evil that keeps them enslaved.
There is much rejoicing that is not Christian. The Baptist indicates the way to let one's heart be filled with true joy: to prepare for the coming of the Lord in one's own life by sharing one's goods with the poor and by rejecting all forms of abuse, oppression, and prevarication against one's brother or sister.
