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Dear Parishioners, I hope the following meditation from a booklet by Elsie H. McGrath will help you benefit from the Season of Advent. There was no god before me and after me there will be none; every knee shall bend in worship, and every tongue shall praise me. The Third Sunday of Advent signals a change. Called Gaudete, a Latin word meaning "rejoice",it sounds different. The readings are filled with promise; they bring hope to a people heavy under the burden of waiting. It looks different, too. A rose-colored candle is lit in the Advent wreath and rose-colored vestments are worn for the liturgical celebration. The "coming of the Lord" draws closer. "Here is your God," said Isaiah. "He will come and save you. Then...eyes...shall be opened, and...ears...unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." We hear Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in Jesus’ words today, as he answers John’s inquiry made from prison: "Go and tell John what you hear and see..." James offered the same promise to his people as Isaiah had offered so long before, and yet Jesus had already died and risen before James wrote, so it is clear he did not expect the same "coming of the Lord" as Isaiah had. These folks were suffering for their faith in Jesus; the hope that James offered was for the Lord’s Second Coming, which was not only hoped for but imminently expected. Our hope today is also imminently expected; Jesus will come again, very soon. Sincerely, Father Ring |
