OMELIE / Omelie EN

13 dic 2020

13/12/2020 – 3rd Sunday of Advent - year B

13/12/2020 – 3^rd Sunday of Advent - year B

Reading 1 IS 61,1-2.10-11* LK 1,46-54 * Reading 2 1THES 5,16-24 * Gospel JN 1,6-8.19-28

The first reading is about the prophecy that has been fulfilled with Jesus: on Him has rested the Lord’s Spirit, and so He has become God’s gift to Humans! He is a gift enjoyed by everyone, because He announces the Father’s love, lets us know it and makes us able to stay in His presence, to listen to His confidences and to answer Him! Jesus is a gift because He is freeing us from internal slavery caused by the fear of a God-owner! The internal freedom growing in us when we listen to the good news of Jesus is making us able to live in a different way, attentive to the neighbor, with a desire to love. In our environment in this way blossoms a a new climate of serenity, joy, peace and faith, the joyous faith which Mary gives us an example of with her Magnificat, repeated today instead of the Psalm in between the readings.

Isaiah’s prophecy comes from long past centuries, but John has been inspired to capture the moment of its fulfillment. Urged to talk about himself, he cannot manage, or, better, he does not want to, because he lives and acts only for the One who has to come! About himself he only says he is not, while his voice tells the presence of the One who is! He only wants to prepare the souls to welcome Him, because He will be the one to fill the hearts with God’s Holy Spirit! John prepares the meeting with some purification, making those who listen to him aware of the fact that they are sinners, they are therefore far from God and in need of His salvation, and he helps them to detach their heart from those internal instincts which are source of sin.

John is preparing us to welcome with humility Someone “you do not recognize”, someone nobody is worthy of being a servant of. John uses an expression the Jews easily understand, while we find it quite difficult: “whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie”. With this sentence, which quotes a law of the people of Israel, he would like to say that he neither can nor wants to steal from the one who is coming the role of spouse of the people, the role of God! Jesus is the one who realises God’s love for His people, and who welcomes in God’s name the love of the people for Him. Jesus is the ultimate spouse, the only one who loves with a true and fruitful love. By letting ourselves being loved by Jesus we too become children of God and we make His family grow. The Scriptures are often talking about God as the spouse of His people: now He comes to finally love it, He does it visibly, through Jesus: He will demonstrate this on the cross.

We continue therefore our way in this world waiting for the full revelation of Jesus, watchful in our waiting. We live this time of Advent as an exercise to be always edging towards Him, with the desire to meet Him and careful to serve Him.

Saint Paul is suggesting us some useful and necessary behaviours, consequences of our love which always wants to answer Jesus’: to be happy, to pray constantly, to say thank you, to be careful always to choose what is good avoiding temptations. The Lord continues to love us and, if He finds us behaving like this, He will be able to sanctify us completely, so He will be able to fill our life with His Holy Spirit. Then we too will be able to say with Jesus: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, …he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,”! And with Mary we will repeat: “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”