Third Sunday Of Advent, Year C
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Psalm (Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6); Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
The first reading is from the oracles of the Old Testament prophet Zephaniah. His prophetic mission took place in the early years of King Josiah about 630 B.C. This king was arguably the best of all the kings descended from King David. Zephaniah’s ancestry is royal, a great grandson of King Hezekiah, 715-686 B.C., therefore a cousin of King Josiah. Zephaniah’s mission was part of King Josiah’s religious reform — an attempt to undo the foreign policy and idolatry rampant during the reign of Josiah’s predecessor Manasseh. The international politics of the time involved the relationship of the Kingdom of Judah to Assyria and Babylon in the east, and Egypt in the south. These were the powers, but on a smaller scale there were tribes surrounding Judah — the Philistines, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. Think today’s Gaza and Jordan.
A dominant theme of Zephaniah is “the Day of the Lord,” a day when the Lord God of Israel would punish not only his chosen people for their idolatry, but would punish all nations. The prophet denounces the royal family, cheating merchants, unbelievers. He rails on, “a day of wrath, ruin, devastation, darkness, gloom.” Surely enough to cause depression in hearers, and perhaps in today’s readers. That’s just the bad news. The good news comes in the final chapter of the oracles. Even the heathens will be converted. God’s own people will become a humble people who, (hard to believe about humankind), “will do no wrong, tell no lies, nor perjure themselves.” In today’s reading the prophet raps a psalm of joy. The Lord God will repeal the just sentence. The Lord God himself will be king of Israel, and “will dance with shouts of joy . . . as on a festival day.” The Lord God dancing is an interesting concept. The selection of this reading for the Third Sunday of Advent was determined by the theme of joy permeating today’s liturgy, which begins with the Antiphon, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, ‘Rejoice.’ The Lord is near.”
The Responsorial Psalm is not taken from the Book of Psalms but from a song or psalm of joy among the oracles of the prophet Isaiah. His long prophetic ministry was centered in Jerusalem.
It began around 740 B.C. and may have extended all the way down to the early years of the reign of King Manasseh, 686-642 B.C. The theme of joy pervades Isaiah’s psalm. The best example of this is the people’s response, “Cry out with joy and gladness, for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel!” It should also be noted that from the words of this psalm of joy, Pope Pius XII, on May 15, 1956, opened his encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “With joy you will draw water from the fountains of the Savior.”
The second reading is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. At least part of this letter or collection of brief letters was written while Paul was imprisoned in Ephesus. Thus it is all the more striking that he speaks about joy, as we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say ‘Rejoice.’” He gives two reasons for rejoicing. First, the kindness of the Philippian Christian Community through their financial support of him during his imprisonment, perhaps also before and after his imprisonment. The second reason for rejoicing, “The Lord is near!” For Paul and the early Christian Communities this meant that the Lord would soon return, the Second Coming, to bring relief to the harassed minority which soon began to be called “Christians.” For us, “The Lord is near,” is a reminder of not only the final appearance of Jesus at the end of time. Even more, this phrase reminds us that our celebration of his first visit to the earth is imminent.
The gospel reading for this Sunday is related to the mission and message of John the Baptizer. From the gospels and other sources we know that John’s proclamation of repentance, forgive-ness, and baptizing was successful. Crowds of people came to seek his advice. Luke gives examples. First, the crowds in general. “What should we do?” How should they express their repentance other than through the ritual of baptism? Here we encounter Luke’s social gospel. “Share even your excess clothing and your food with those who have neither.” Next are the hated tax collectors, who had accepted his baptism. “Teacher, what should we do?” The hatred of the people against tax collectors was at least partially based on the exorbitant rates they attempted to collect. The Baptizer replies, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed,” (by Roman law). Tax collectors were accompanied by soldiers to provide motivation and out of fear of assassination. The soldiers also wish to repent, “What should we do?” “Do not practice extortion or falsely accuse anyone,” (of not having paid taxes due). Seems the soldiers ran a kind of protection racket. Pay us an amount, or we will accuse you of not paying the taxes due.
Luke notes the enthusiasm of the crowds, to the point that they thought John might be their long-awaited Messiah (Christ). This gives Luke the catechetical opportunity to proclaim the superiority of Christian baptism over the baptism administered by John. His baptism was an external washing which proclaimed a change of mind, an improvement in conduct. Next, John announces the imminent arrival of “One mightier than I, whose sandal strings I am unworthy to untie.” Not only has Luke put John’s baptism in second place but proclaims John as only #2. Less in fact, because the care of the master’s sandals was the work of a slave. What will be the mission of “the One mightier” than John? His baptizing, superior to that of John, will bring the Holy Spirit and fire to the baptized. The Holy Spirit is the good news. The bad news, the fire. “His winnowing fan will be in his hand,” (to separate the chaff from the wheat). The wheat will be gathered into the barn. The chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.” Should a liturgy which began with such joy end in disaster? Doesn’t seem right, so Luke closes on a positive note about John, “Exhorting them in other ways, he preached good news to the people.”
