A clue from the kids

Homily for Gaudete Sunday
St. Lawrence Catholic Center
13 December 2009
Year for Priests

For daily readings, click here

Presents under the tree. The kids know how many. How big. They are guessing what's inside, knowing that what's not under the tree now, Santa might bring later. Kids anticipate Christmas morning with joy. Watching kids can teach us how to celebrate Gaudete Sunday. Kids are full of joy as Christmas draws near. They know that the fulfillment of one of their deepest wishes, if not all of them, lie within the mystery of those gifts under the tree.

The people following John the Baptist were filled with this kind of anticipation. They were filled with excitement and joy, at the prospect of soon being in the presence of the long-promised Messiah. They wondered if they were already meeting him in John the Baptist. They rejoiced, while the rest of the world remained in sleepiness and fear, at the chance they might have to meet the person who could make all things new.

Unlike kids, us older folks do not expect anything under the tree to fulfill our deepest desires nor to complete the mystery of who we are. It is not material gifts, but the meeting of a person who loves us and sets us completely free to love, that completes us. But just in case we are not joyfully anticipating such a meeting, such a chance to see the very face of God, if instead we find ourselves busy with finals and a million other important things, just a glance at the kids can set us aright. It just takes a moment to recapture Advent joy, if we take Jesus' advice to remember always to turn and be like children. We can take our advent cues from the kids. Like them, it is now the time for us to rejoice on this Gaudete Sunday, as we have passed the midpoint of our Advent expectation of Christmas. It is time to rejoice, for not just presents, but the Lord Himself is near. The Lord, who wishes to visit his people, to join them in the very circumstances of their lives, is near. The Lord, who wishes to make all things possible again for those who welcome the chance to act through him, with him, and in him, is near. My friends, this is the cause of Christian joy. Not that we are able to escape our lives and enter into some magical kingdom, but that the Lord is coming to visit us, right where we are, in the very very humble circumstances of our lives, and he is ready to choose once again to build his home and his kingdom in our very midst, as surely as he once came among us in the lowly circumstances of Bethlehem.

John Baptist, the greatest prophet ever, reminds us we must perform the corporal works of mercy, and to live in justice, if we are to joyfully welcome this visit by the Lord, instead of fearing it or wanting it delayed. Let us turn from sin and be baptized with water once again, so that we are joyfully ready to be baptized by the Lord Himself, a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. The Lord's coming means that we are no longer limited by the coldness of our sinful hearts, but can act through Him, with Him, and in Him, whose heart is always aflame with the love of the Holy Spirit. +m