ISAIAH 35: 1-6, 10
PSALM 145: 6-10 R. Is. 35:4
JAMES 5: 7-10
MATTHEW 11: 2-11

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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.

ISAIAH 11: 1-10
PSALM 71: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 R. v. 1
ROMANS 15: 4- 9
MATTHEW 3: 1-12

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This time and the Christmas season, besides being a busy time is always a time of joy. What makes it a joy filled time is that it is a time for the family to be together, to be planning things together. It is a time to spend time with close friends or to renew old friendship,

It is in this Spirit that many people are often willing to forgive one another. When this is difficult, something of the Spirit of the season is lost. This spirit of joy is a great reminder for us about what we are preparing to celebrate in the coming of the Lord Jesus. He came to bring reconciliation into our world, to heal relationships, between us and God and between ourselves.

The message of the first reading was given to a desperate people in exile. They wondered if God had abandoned them. It talks about the coming of the Messiah, and the two great gifts he would bring, two gifts that the world desperately needs, namely, justice and peace. Jesus, the Messiah would fulfill this expectation, bringing what the people were yearning for: justice, truth, order, peace and love for all peoples. It is about healing relationships.

In our second reading, Paul is stressing the message of the first reading to give us hope, comfort and courage so that we may give glory to God. In spite of all set-backs, confusion, frustration, etc., the Plan of God will be fulfilled. Paul talks about right relationships with each other.

John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of Jesus. His message is both an invitation and a promise: “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” Jesus brings the Kingdom of God precisely because he brings healing and reconciliation. Therefore the starting point for those who are seeking God’s kingdom is repentance, that is, recognising our sins that destroy relationships, a desire for a change of heart, and turning towards God who brings healing and restoration.

When we speak of God’s kingdom then, we speak about right relationships, where there is justice, peace, harmony, and perfect joy. If we are to reflect on our own relationships, we find that all of us have relationships that are hurting and difficult. During this time of the year there is usually a greater effort by us to be forgiving of one another. Unfortunately more often than not, this does not last beyond Christmas day.

Reconciliation is difficult for most of us, especially when we feel hurt. Often, when we extend forgiveness, we qualify them. One reality though where there is no reconciliation and we retain that anger and hatred, it is we who suffer most. We become the victims of our own hatred.
God’s message to us is to turn to seek His love and mercy that we may begin the road to healing and reconciliation. This is the central message of the readings today, and indeed to the whole season of Advent as celebrated in the church.

We do this in a special way in our church through the sacrament of reconciliation. The sacrament of reconciliation helps us to experience the love and mercy of God that we may find healing to be forgiving as well. It is God’s concrete way of helping us to encounter his healing love.

The truth of the Christian Gospel is that we are all in need of God’s mercy. The Gospel’s message is to seek God’s mercy that we will be able to face God’s justice.

ISAIAH 2: 1-15
PSALM 121: 1-2, 4-9
ROMANS 13: 11-14
MATTHEW 24: 37-44

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Today, as Advent marks our time of preparation for Christmas, when Christ came to be amongst us, it is also a time reminding us that this is also a time of waiting for Christ’s return. But it is not that Christ is far away. The Messiah has already come and today, he is with us.

What does Jesus mean by calling us to stay awake? The first two readings give us some answers. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah has a vision of the kingdom of the Messiah that we wait for. And when Jesus came, he proclaimed that the kingdom of God is close at hand; he fulfills that prophecy.

And so the kingdom we wait for is in some way being offered to us already. To stay awake is to be aware of how that is being offered to us today and to accept and live in it.
God is offering His kingdom to us today. It is when we are willing to accept the way of God, the way of the cross that the kingdom of God is already breaking through.

Our very support of the poor and suffering is a sign of our desire for God’s kingdom today. Our very desire to seek reconciliation and justice with each other is a sign of our desire for God’s kingdom today. Our very desire to seek God in prayer and worship is a sign of our desire for God’s kingdom today.

Why wait for something when we are not willing to recognize and live in the Kingdom of God today by being brothers and sisters loving and supporting each other always.

St Paul calls us to choose for the light: all that is good, seeking the good of others always.
Christmas generally helps us to become more giving and forgiving of others. The Advent message calls us to make everyday a Christmas.

A holy man once asked his disciples how can you tell that the night has passed? One said when you can see and distinguish the fig tree from a peach tree in the distance. Others gave many answers. Finally, the holy man said, “It is when you can look at the face of any human being and see there in the face of your brother or sister, Jesus himself, because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, for you it is still the night.

To be awake is to trust in God in following the Way of Christ. And if we are awake we will know and be prepared for Christ’s return because we would have already journeyed with him in this life.