“Rejoice in the Lord.” This is the theme of this Sunday, which emphasizes, more than the costly aspect of conversion, its true essence: joy for Salvation. This is expressed in the texts of Second Isaiah, the Book of Consolation, Paul’s exhortation to a blameless life, trusting in God, and in the figure of the Precursor…
3rd Sunday of Advent
“Rejoice in the Lord.” This is the theme of this Sunday, which emphasizes, more than the costly aspect of conversion, its true essence: joy for Salvation. This is expressed in the texts of Second Isaiah, the Book of Consolation, Paul’s exhortation to a blameless life, trusting in God, and in the figure of the Precursor.
Isaiah 61:1-2 and 10-11
The spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor.
I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Taken from the third book of “Isaiah.” The prophet’s expressions refer to the restoration of Israel after the exile. The well-known biblical resource of representing God’s protection through material abundance and signs of wealth is used (garments of salvation, robe of righteousness, garland…)
But the text is applied directly to Jesus, especially because of its opening: “To bring good news to the poor…”, a quote used by Jesus himself to announce himself as the Messiah (Mt 11 and Lk 7). Therefore, these texts from Isaiah are used in a dual sense: as a messianic announcement and as an announcement of the saving character of the Kingdom, salvation for the poor, joy for God’s salvation.
The images used to refer to God’s action stand out: “to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
The first letter to the Christians of Thessalonica is almost certainly the first writing of the New Testament, written from Corinth in the year 51, about twenty years after the death of Jesus. It gives us a glimpse of what a young, fervent Christian community was like, firm in the midst of sufferings.
The fundamental theme that the letter develops refers to the theological problem of the second coming of Christ, but the fragment we read is the farewell of the letter, in which Paul makes some final recommendations, like a brief summary of the Christian life.
Any of these phrases sounds like it is addressed to us: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, do not quench the Spirit, test everything and hold fast to what is good…” have come to be classic expressions of the habitual spirituality of Christians.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.