Zep.3: 14-18a; Ps.12:2-6; Phil. 4:4-7; Lk. 3:10-18
Rejoice in the Lord who comes with the good news of salvation. This is the 3rd week of Advent and the color of the candle is pink to represent the joy of the Lord’s coming. It also signifies the joy of the Shepherds when the angel told them that Christ was to be born. We are to come to the Lord in a spirit of thanksgiving in our prayer and petition knowing that we belong to God and our peace rests in him.
Anxiety, stress, worries then is a sign that we lack the peace of God and our minds and hearts are restless not with fear of the Lord but with fear of the world. Fear and worry not only steal our joy but it can lead to despair and darkness separate from the light of Christ. We cannot rejoice in the Lord simply by hearing the good news but by living the good news. This is the message of John the Baptist who gives to each the answer to “What should we do?” We rejoice in the Lord by doing what is right, just, charitable, and loving.
We rejoice in the Lord because the “great and Holy one” is among us and “the Lord has removed the judgment against you”. The Lord comes with glad tidings of his mercy to wipe away our sins. He restores us to wholeness in recovery of our brokenness. It is up to us however to avoid sin and the near temptation to sin. This is not easy but we can begin by avoiding people, places, and things as much as possible that tempt us to sin.
The people ask, “What are we to do?” Treat others as you would like to be treated and know when to engage and when to walk away. Two young seminarians were walking through the mall on a summer day where there were young women lightly dressed in shorts and tops. One could not avoid staring while the other simply tried to look away. One said to the other, “I think its time to leave and go to the car and say a rosary.” Which of the two made the request to leave speaks to the faithful heart. It could have been the one who had had enough temptation or the one who simply felt no need to be in that environment.
“What are we to do?” We rejoice in the Lord, trust in the Lord, pray to the Lord and give thanks to the Lord for the answer to our prayer that his will be done. We rejoice in the Lord when we pray “Blessed be God, blessed be his Holy name, all glory and honor is yours almighty Father”. We rejoice in the name of Jesus that we have been redeemed, forgiven of our sins, and restored to holiness. This is why we rejoice in the holy cross of Jesus and carry it on us as a sign that we belong to him and he is our savior.
What are we to do with anxiety? We read that we are to “have no anxiety at all” but anxiety and worries are not the same thing. Worries come from our thoughts and we can change our thinking about a situation. Our thought can lead us to action to face our worries and resolve our concerns. We also can surely pray and petition to the Lord all our concerns. Anxiety however goes beyond our thoughts as an attack on the body.
First of all, as someone who has suffered with anxiety it can be a very debilitating cross. It is the evil one’s thorn at my side that remains despite all prayer and learning how not to feed into it. It does not come from my thoughts or else I would long have changed my thinking. It comes suddenly as an autonomic nervous system response of the body. The body is broken and gradually begins to fail us. Our soul however can also be injured from anxiety but it can be healed and learn to be free from the attack of anxiety even if the autonomic response of the body remains. We must prepare for the death of the body but rejoice in the freedom it will bring to the soul for we will be given a new body that will not perish and body and soul will be eternal. This is our joy in the Lord that our God comes to renew us and set us free from sin, sickness, and the death of this body.
Advent is our time to rejoice in the Lord for his coming is our freedom.
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