Advent III

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you… (Zephaniah 3:17-18a.) An old adage says, “Pray as if everything depends on God, but act as if everything depends on you!” These readings today on this Third Sunday of Advent are encouraging us to live this saying. The Prophet Zephaniah encourages the people of ancient Israel to pray, hope and believe that God will make their lives fearless and joyful. St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians continues the theme that prayer can and will guard our lives from anxiety. He also tells his newly formed Christians to act in kindness. In the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist tells the people who are preparing for the Messiah to show that they are sincere by acting like it in the ways they treat others. Prayer and action feed each other. We receive Eucharist, the Word, and Mercy from God in order to live the gifts that we have received. And vice versa our actions lead us back to God so that we can hopefully get it better the next time and eventually lead us to life forever with God. Prayer and action are the components of discipleship. Prayer and action are both trusting behaviors. In prayer the more we trust in the ONE we are praying to the more confidence we have in living and acting in the ways that God wills. And trust is only in our imagination if we are unwilling to act upon it. This is Gaudete Sunday! This word “Gaudete” means “rejoice”. The Church and the readings chosen for us today call us to pray and act joyfully because we trust that our God will fill complete our lives with mercy, compassion, and blessings here (and unimaginably in the Life to come).