December 16, 2007 | 12:00am
Flash floods and deadly landslides; lahar continuing to take its toll of lives and property; rice crises and the destruction of prime crops; distress of thousands starving and sick; the crime wave; corruption in government; a citizenry insecure and in constant fear for their safety. What a gloomy picture. To think Christmas is just around the corner.
This darkness on a Sunday like this, which we used to call “Rose Sunday”, undoubtedly one of the most profound and most beautiful weeks of the Church year; a day of rejoicing, a day when we are hardly able to restrain our happiness over the coming of the Lord — Christmas joy anticipated a couple of weeks from hence. Today, the Church modifies her color. Instead of the deep violet, she uses rose color, a softened hue of violet and thus a compromise between the colors symbolizing penance and joy. “Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice.” With these words, the Church greets us as we enter.
The first reaction to this greeting might be one of skepticism: “But, Mother Church, are you kidding? Do you not see all that suffering in the land? Have you no feeling for the stream of tears flowing copiously? Are you blind to all that fear and grief? How, then, can we rejoice?” This is our best motive for joy. It is our hope. In this joyful son of redemption, the prophet Isaiah, advances this hope:
The desert and the parched land will exult
And rejoice with joyful song . . .
They will see the glory of the Lord,
The splendor of our God. (Isa. 35:1)
. . . it is peace You give —
a peace in which we trust . . .
My soul longs for You in the night;
I awake in the morning
With my heart desiring You. (Isa. 26:1ff)
Apt words indeed to express our longing for the Savior and or the grace of Christmas. Christian optimism stands on this — the Kingdom of God, our highest good. And that Kingdom is within us when we are in grace. This should be enough to give us the faith that we are children of God, Christ is our brother, heaven is our true home; in short, we are divinely privileged. There earthly life is a bad dream and we will be rich, happy, beautiful and healthy forever. We will be in eternal beatitude. Before that, (as Matthew in today’s Gospel says) we should have shown mercy; we should have served God loyally for His own sake not primarily for our self’s sake; and we should have promoted harmony within the human community as contrasted with those who foster strife. Then we should have passed the test of persecution for justice sake, our holiness having been deepened by suffering. The joy we speak of today is a joy deepened and purified in the mysterious crucible of pain and all the vicissitudes humankind is exposed to.
St. Paul is the best spokesman on today’s joyous spirit: “Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Show your unassuming, orderly conduct to all men for the Lord is near. Throw away all anxious cares, and bring your needs to God in prayer and supplication joined to gratitude. And may God’s peace, blessed beyond comprehension, protect your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Third Sunday of Advent, Matthew 11:2-11
