ISAIAH 35: 1-6, 10
PSALM 145: 6-10 R. Is. 35:4
JAMES 5: 7-10
MATTHEW 11: 2-11
In the newspapers the other day it was reported that a research conducted recently found that for half of Australians, Christmas is actually the most stressful time of the year. The research found that the biggest stress triggers were financial pressures (67 per cent) as well as family expectations (57 per cent) and social obligations (48 per cent).
It is ironic that Jesus, God came and was born in a humble manger and today people go into extravagant expenses beyond their means to celebrate his birth.
Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we are invited in the liturgy to be joyful as we draw closer to Christmas. If people find it stressful rather than a joyful time, maybe they need to ask themselves what exactly is Christmas all about for them.
Yes, joy is found in the very message of Christmas not in what we choose to do. Joy comes from knowing that God has come amongst us and that Christ will come again.
God has kept His promise. God is faithful to us. And God in Christ will come again.
The joy that God speaks of is the hope we have that comes from faith.
Mary and Joseph are great examples for us. Mary knew whom she carried……the incarnate love of God. Though they had to go through hardships knowing whom she carried would have filled Joseph and her with a joy that no hardship could destroy.
Today we carry the Risen Christ, the Glory of God, in our hearts. The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah talks about the joy that this brings to the faithful. The second reading from the letter of James tells us that this is a time for waiting. Have patience, trust in God for God is faithful to His promise.
Advent is a time then to reflect on what does it mean to us to say that we are Christians, followers of Christ. Advent is a time to seek a deeper faith in God, that that faith in God may fill us with joy.
Often this joy can seem so elusive because we are caught up with the worldly things and not of the spiritual and heavenly things.
And a joyful faith is so contagious. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples of John the Baptist to tell John what they hear and see. Through Jesus, lives are transformed, there is hope for a light has come into the darkness as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading.
And so, let us reflect on how has our lives been transformed because of our faith in Christ? And how have we touched the lives of others because of our faith in God? In so doing we not only transform the lives of others but there is in ourselves a greater understanding of the gift of God to us.
The Christmas Story is more than the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. It is also the birth of a new faith, a new relationship with God in Christ. When we focus our Christmas celebrations more on its true meaning our celebrations will be one of joy and not a stressful experience.
Merredin Catholic Parish 