{"id":2165,"date":"2007-12-15T10:40:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-15T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/12\/homily-for-december-16-2007-third-sunday-of-advent-gaudete.html"},"modified":"2007-12-15T10:40:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-15T10:40:00","slug":"homily-for-december-16-2007-third-sunday-of-advent-gaudete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/12\/homily-for-december-16-2007-third-sunday-of-advent-gaudete.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for December 16, 2007: Third Sunday of Advent, “Gaudete”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Back in the 1930s, one of the great producers in Hollywood was the legendary Samuel Goldwyn, of Metro Goldwyn Meyer, or MGM. He thought movies should be entertaining, not preachy or heavy-handed. He once said, \u201cIf you want to send a message, use Western Union.\u201d <\/p>\n

I thought about him when I was looking over the readings for the last three weeks. Because throughout these weeks of Advent, God has been sending us a message. He hasn\u2019t used Western Union. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s used John the Baptist, in the gospel of Matthew. <\/p>\n

The first week of Advent, John\u2019s message was \u201cStay awake!\u201d Be alert. Change is in the air. <\/p>\n

Last week, the message was \u201cRepent!\u201d Make yourself ready. Prepare the way of the Lord. <\/p>\n

This week, we find John the Baptist in prison, but he sends his followers with a message. They ask Jesus: Are you the one who is to come? Or should we wait for another? <\/p>\n

Every Sunday these last weeks, scripture has drawn us closer and closer to Christ \u2013 until this week, we meet Him face-to-face and finally hear His own words. And they are words full of another recurring message of Advent \u2013 hope. He tells them: The lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see, the dead are raised. <\/p>\n

Yes. This is the one we have been waiting for. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a breakthrough moment in the gospels \u2013 but it is for us a moment also of relief, and joy. Everything that we have been waiting for and hoping for is about to be realized. This is a Sunday to rejoice \u2013 and the ancient introductory rite for this Sunday declares: \u201cRejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near!\u201d The Latin for rejoice is \u201cGaudete,\u201d which is why we call this \u201cGaudete Sunday.\u201d And we mark that with the bright color we wear \u2013 rose \u2013 to signify that our Advent journey is nearing its end. <\/p>\n

This is a season of journeying \u2013 and I was reminded of that recently when my wife and I found ourselves on the road, for Thanksgiving. We were in Maryland, visiting our families. You\u2019ve probably had this experience: driving around in a rental car in a strange city trying to find a good radio station. I was looking for a station that was playing Christmas music. I found the hip hop station, the jazz station, the talk station, the Hispanic station, the country western station. Finally, I found a Christian music station that had some nice carols and some songs I hadn\u2019t heard before. One of them stood out \u2013 a very pretty song that described Mary and Joseph\u2019s journey before Jesus was born. It was called \u201cNot That Far From Bethlehem.\u201d <\/p>\n

Well, on this third Sunday of Advent, we\u2019re not that far from Bethlehem. We are almost there. <\/p>\n

<\/a>In geographic terms, Bethlehem is about 70 miles from Nazareth. To put that in context, it\u2019s about the same distance as from Forest Hills to Philadelphia. If Mary and Joseph had taken Amtrak, they\u2019d have been there in about 90 minutes. But they weren\u2019t so lucky. It may have taken them up to a week to get there, traveling on foot and donkey. We can only imagine their relief as they got closer and closer to their destination, and they realized the trip was almost over. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what the song is about — Joseph encouraging Mary, and reassuring her. We\u2019re almost there. \u201cWe\u2019re Not That Far From Bethlehem.\u201d <\/p>\n

But for us, I think, the sentiment behind the song is about more than just geography, more than a date on the calendar. <\/p>\n

Bethlehem is not just as a point on the map, or a place in history. It is where Christ comes into our world. It is a crossroads of the human heart. It is where hope is born. <\/p>\n

A place of eternal possibility. <\/p>\n

And we\u2019re closer to it than we may realize. <\/p>\n

In these last weeks of Advent, we need to remember that. These are weeks that will be crazy, with parties to attend and gifts to wrap and cards to send. There will be decorations to hang and notes to write and meals to prepare and cookies to bake and bags to pack and planes to catch. <\/p>\n

But take time to pause, and to give thanks. Take stock. Take heed of all the messages God has sent us this Advent \u2013 to stay awake, to repent, to prepare the way of the Lord, to seek Him in the desert. <\/p>\n

And: take time to pinpoint the Bethlehem of your own heart. That place that calls to each of us. <\/p>\n

Bethlehem is waiting for us \u2013 even as we are waiting for it. Even as we are waiting for Christ. It is the destination at the end of our Advent wanderings \u2013 where we were always meant to be. Spend these weeks quietly, joyfully anticipating it. <\/p>\n

Because we will be there before we know it. <\/p>\n

The lyrics of the song I mentioned put it so simply, and so beautifully. <\/p>\n

The words of Joseph to Mary are also God\u2019s words to us \u2026as He accompanies us on our journey: <\/p>\n

Though it seems the road is long,
We\u2019re not that far from Bethlehem,
Where all our hope and joy begins.
We\u2019re not that far from Bethlehem. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Image: Road to Bethlehem, c. 1890<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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