REJOICE IN THE LORD!

III SUNDAY OF ADVENT:Phil 4:4-7

What are we looking for? Pleasure or joy and peace?

In todays world, many people confuse joy with pleasure. Indeed, they may go together, as two partners walking hand in hand; however, time and again, pleasure is but a mask of true joy, leaving a sour of aftertaste, filled with disappointment, which may turn into despair. The search for pleasure is seen as a supreme good that should be looked for at all costs. This search for pleasure is many times an attempt at hiding the emptiness and drowning the sorrows deep down in the heart. We refuse to face ourselves and to recognise how much our hearts are confused and anxious, in turmoil. Sometimes, it seems as if the more we look for pleasure, the more true joy stays away from us.

Looking for joy in the wrong place

Why all that? May be we look for joy in the wrong place. Already in his time, the prophet Jeremiah reproached his people, because "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer 2:13). 

Nowadays, the broken cisterns that hold no water are the in drugs, alcohol, sex, wealth and power, inn which we take refuge. They bring some pleasure, but after a while, they become our masters, and we their slaves, with our lives destroyed and wasted.

In this Sunday, we hear a call to rejoice. The prophet Zephaniah shouted in a loud voice: 

"Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,

Israel, shout aloud!

Rejoice, exult with all your heart,

daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has repealed your sentence;

he has driven your enemies away.

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;

you have no more evil to fear." (Zeph 3:14-15).

Why should we rejoice? Because the Lord is in our midst, and he has defeated our enemies. We have no reason to fear. We are in his hands, in his safe and caring hands.

Be happy: the Lord is near!

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul repeats a similar message:

"I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.

There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:4-7).

It is easy to be tolerant, when our hearts are at peace. And God is a God of peace. There is no need to worry, because God will guard our hearts and our thoughts. We must not fear God; we can approach him with confidence, putting before him our needs, our worries and our sufferings.

JOHN THE BAPTIST CALLS FOR FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE

All kinds of people came to John, to be baptized and to receive guidance from him. Luke presents John as an upright man, who stood for the truth and who was not afraid of speaking out. He presented himself as a Voice, the voice that calls out in the desert, asking people to repent, to convert and to adopt new attitudes - attitudes of fairness and of justice. He spoke against exploitation, extortion and oppression.

To the tax collectors he said: "Exact no more than your rate." And to a group of soldiers who came to him, he advised:"No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!"

John reminds us that the coming of the Messiah must bring about a society based in fairness, justice and peace.