Welcome and Theme
Lighting the Advent Candle: Third Sunday
A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah IS 35:1-6A, 10
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
who comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
and who comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
who comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
and who comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
These are the inspired words of Isaiah, a prophet of the Holy
One.
A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew
MT
11:2-11
When John the
Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
"What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
These are the inspired words of Matthew a disciple of Jesus. The community affirms these words with AMEN.he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
"Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
"What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Kathie Ryan's Homily Starter for Gaudete Sunday
In the Isaiah reading we hear: and then the desert will bloom with abundant flowers,
creation will sing with joyful song, feeble hands will be strengthened, knees
will be firm, and then just like our gospel reading we hear the blind will see
and the lame will walk. Matthew adds more-the lepers will be cleansed, the deaf
will hear, the dead will rise and the poor will have the good news.
But there is a catch-all of these expectations, anticipations
and hopes that are described in the readings are already happening. The desert
has and is always blooming, creation is always singing. Long before Jesus there
were many stories in Hebrew scriptures of the lame walking, and the blind
seeing. That tells us something
important-- there is always reason to rejoice yesterday, today and tomorrow. We have to wake up, see and be aware.
Rejoice!
Henri Nouwen, defined joy as “the experience of knowing that you
are unconditionally loved and that nothing-sickness, failure, emotional
distress, oppression, war, or even death-can take that love away.” The key to rejoicing is to know you are
unconditionally loved.
Remember according to the RCC we are supposed to be taking a
break from our penitential exercises? Maybe not penitential but there is an exercise
that needs attention. I think the most important exercise and an exercise we
all struggle with-- is to remind ourselves and each other that we are
unconditionally loved. Believing, knowing and living as if we are
unconditionally loved is not easy. You and I put that unconditional love into
action when we take care of one another, when we are kind to those who are not
kind to us, when we feed the hungry, when we take care of the poor, when we
take care of creation. And when we really accept that we are personally, individually
unconditionally loved. The real message
of Gaudete Sunday is to be aware of unconditional love and to love one another
and all of creation, today, tomorrow and always.
What did you hear and see in these scripture readings
today? How will they change you?
What will it cost?
https://youtu.be/JhQ0_XMUtvQ
Closing Song: Canticle of the Sun by Marty Haugen
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