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OMELIE / Omelie EN

11 dic 2021
12/12/2021 – 3rd Sunday of Advent - C

12/12/2021 – 3rd Sunday of Advent - C

Reading 1 ZEP 3, 14-18 Psalm IS 12, 2-6 2Reading 2 PHIL 4, 4-7 Gospel LK 3, 10-18

We will continue to prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus, the Messiah promised to men incapable of joy, because incapable to be grateful to God and of communion with their neighbours. The reading from Zephaniah and the one from Saint Paul are an invitation to rejoice, even more, to exult. What the prophet is telling us today will be summarised later by the archangel Gabriel when he will address Maria to greet her.

It is time for us to rise from every disappointment and every discouragement because the one who was promised will come shortly. He is nobody but the “Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior”! Whoever realise they need salvation cannot do anything else but beginning to rejoice. The apostle is repeating the invitation. “Rejoice in the Lord always, I shall say it again: rejoice!”. How many objections to this joy! I can almost hear all the voices growing loud to justify sadness, the bleak tone of the voices, the long faces: all the evil in the world is contributing to this. But in the world there is not only evil, and we cannot continue to be in the world the witnesses of the evil which holds it.

Jesus has arrived in the world. In the world He continues to arrive, our friend and Saviour, the Son of the living God, who frees us from sin, the root cause and source of all evil. Even in the middle of the sufferings we know there is someone to whom we can turn with confidence, and therefore our face becomes affable, serene, able to be grateful. We, in a world full of long faces and disappointment, we are witnesses to the presence of the one who comes from heaven to change our earth into a place of peace, kingdom of harmony, and to guide us with firmness on the path which is bringing us to the ultimate heaven. We are witnesses to Jesus!

John the Baptist too is helping and reassuring us. First of all, he gives concrete and simple advice to those who desire to concretely start welcoming the One who comes, and so anticipating His desires: to share with the poor the goods of earth with generosity, to show respect to every person, to be content with little: these are steps of the commandment of love, which Jesus will perfect with His love for the sinners.

John is introducing Him joyfully. He is mightier than him: in front of Him even the prophet is lowering his head with humility. He will use His might to baptise us, so immerse us in Holy Spirit, even better, in His fire which purifies, warms up and illuminate. His words, words of love for the poor on earth, will be the foundation for any lasting and eternal judgement. In fact, He is the one who will separate the grain from the weed, He is the one who differentiates between the ones who are God’s and the ones who are not worthy of Him. Men’s judgements have little value, human justice, with its fragility and injustices, will last very little time. Who would not start waiting for such a divine man?

We will grow our desire to meet Him, not so much because and not only for asking Him for favours, but in order to offer Him our availability. In this way our joy grows, because our life is taking on a meaning and value which go beyond the most precious things in the world. We become true servants of God.