Today’s Gospel reading is a combination of two passages from the Gospel of St. Luke. First we hear the opening lines of the Gospel, where the Evangelist communicates the purpose of his writing. He intends to compile a trustworthy narrative of the events concerning Jesus, that have been ‘fulfilled’– he says – and he is going to relate these events according to their transmission through eye-witnesses. That’s the first part of today’s Gospel reading. Then, our lectionary skips the initial chapters of St. Luke’s Gospel about Jesus’ birth, his childhood and his baptism, and passes on to the fourth chapter to relate the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

Who Is Coming…

O Wisdom, your gentle power extends from one end of the earth to the other…it teaches us knowledge of self and of God, revealing the truth wherever deceptions appear.  Your Wisdom Word emerges out of the silent depths. O come, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and minds.

We have a beautiful lyrical movement from the Second Sunday of Advent to this Third Sunday: Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday to rejoice and give praise.  Like a musical composition, the composer’s main theme is building towards its climax, always with its immediate goal present in mind and heart: ‘the God who is coming’. 

The Second Sunday of Advent opens with the cry of John the Baptist out of the wilderness: ‘Prepare the Way’. This cry is intended to pierce our hearts so that we may be ready for the new unfolding life of ‘the God who is to come’.

In our relation to the ‘God who is to come’ how do we wait? What is the interior demeanor that is asked of each of us if we are to receive this new manifestation of God’s life within us and in our midst? With our liturgy we have taken the first step into Advent; we are blessed to have these days to quiet down inside, to listen, to let go, to wait with our deepest longing.