HOMILY FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C.

Zephaniah 3:14-18; Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-6 R/ v.6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke: 3:10-18

“THE QUEST FOR AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS”

           By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today the church celebrates the “Gaudete Sunday”. We are happy because the coming of the son of God is closer than ever to us. The word joy is interchangeably used with happiness and rejoicing.  

·      The theme of joy or happiness runs through the readings especially as expressed by St. Paul in Letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always!” the word “rejoice” is composed of two words “re” (again) and joy. St. Paul repeated his exhortation: I say it again: rejoice!

·      Dear friends in Christ, authentic joy comes from knowing and doing the will of God and understanding our place within the entire plan of God.

·      The gospel reading presents us with the personality of John the Baptist whose unique role was to announce the arrival of the messiah no more no less. Despite living an austere life and going through all kinds of difficulty, he remained focused on his mission. He remained joyful in the service of the Lord because he clearly understood his identity and was satisfied with that which was the will of God for him.

·      We must remember also that St. Paul wrote the Letter to the Philippians while he was in a dark Roman prison and without any certainty that he can still come out alive. There was nothing to rejoice about in that situation. But joy is a virtue and a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not dependent on any external condition. Rather, it all depends on one’s intimate relationship with God. Rightly, then, that St. Paul said: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near” (4:4-5).

·      John never claimed that he was the Messiah. He never put on a “persona” that was conflicting with God’s divine plan for him. John was contented being an announcer of the reign of the son of God.

·      No doubt there were pressures and temptations to take up an identity that was not his which may lead him to cheap popularity, momentary fame, and glory. And later he would suffer depression and chronic unhappiness. Accepting his place in the divine plan was a show of classical humility “…the one coming after me I am not worthy to undo the strap of his sandals.” (Lk. 3:16)

·      We can therefore be joyful and truly happy when we know who we truly are, our role, and our place in God’s divine plan.

·      It is not surprising that a lot of us are always sad and unhappy, our sadness is not even enough, we make effort to make everyone around us sad and unhappy too because we are suffering from a great deal of “identity crisis”. Even the scriptures tell us that “the joy of the Lord is my strength” (Neh. 8:10). We come to church in the presence of Joy itself. But we are still sad because of so many worries and the fact that we are leaving fake lives. We have sold out an identity we cannot sustain, we have made promises we cannot fulfil, we have given some impressions we cannot easily change. Therefore, we have two identities namely- our true self and the perception we have sold out.

·      A lot of us desire authentic happiness and joy – a joy that is lasting and eternal. No wonder St. Augustine once said, “O Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. Therefore, true, and lasting happiness comes from God and doing the will of God and maintaining that identity within that will of God.

·      My dear brothers and sisters, if nothing makes you happy, if nothing gladdens your heart, the promise of God in the first reading should. That all hope is not lost. Authentic happiness is still achievable. When the glory of the Lord is revealed, everything will be restored to its original plan - “the Lord will renew you by his love” (Zep. 3:17). The Lord will repeal our sentences and we will have no more reasons to fear, no more reasons to live fake and pretentious life. All that has besieged our lives and left us sad and moody will be removed and we will rejoice and blossom again.

·      The Lord will restore us to our identity. He will restore our joy, and he will open our eyes to see the unquantifiable joy that comes from living out our identity.

·      This authentic happiness that we all desire is not automatic, neither is it rocket science. It comes with a lot of patience and trust, unreservedly in the Lord. We must be ready to do something, we must be ready to shift grounds and make sacrifices. The multitude asked John: “what then shall we do?” The multitude here represents all of us who are preparing and waiting for the coming of the Lord; the multitude represents the human race for whose sake the saviour is coming. We obviously need to be active in our faith, hope, and charity before the Lord comes. This can be found in the responses given by John to the multitude. He said: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food let him do likewise”. Tax collectors came and he gave them the direction to fill the gap (do not collect more than you should). Soldiers came, he also gave them spiritual counsel to fill the gap (do not rob people).

·      To bring it home, if we all desire authentic happiness then we must be true to our vocations and identities. If you are a married man, you cannot be living like a playboy, if you are wife, you cannot be seen in every place but where you are supposed to be. If you are a priest, you are not expected to be living like a married man. Because true joy comes from knowing your vocation and doing just that which is expected of you.

·      Dear friends in Christ, being joyful always is a decision. You must choose to rejoice! There may be things around you that should naturally make you sad choose to be joyful. To do that, we must first, remove all those things that make us sad, namely: 1. living in sin. We cannot be in sin and expect the coming of the messiah to make us joyful. 2. Selfishness: many of us take solace in material things thinking that is where true happiness will come from material things can only bring us momentary happiness and excitement. Ask those who bought new cars, new clothes and moved into new houses they will tell you. 3. Living outside the will of God: when we live fake lives, we are in constant battle with God for supremacy, and we cannot conquer our creator therefore we are always sad.

·      What is it that has kept you sorrowful for long? Is it poor patronage in your business, nagging wife, wayward husband, incorrigible children, failed promises and expectations, a failed marriage, failed contracts, childlessness, failed targets etc. The second reading tells us to cast all our worries on God through prayers and supplication. Let your request be made known to him in total faith, be patient and let God turn your story around.

·      Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And authentic joy comes from life in the spirit. You cannot be truly joyful if you are not spiritual. Mary rejoiced under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and she sang the Magnificat (Lk. 1:26-38). For us then to find authentic happiness we must live lives that are in consonance with the Holy Spirit.

·      As we await the coming of the author of true and authentic joy, we must go about living our true Christian life - affecting each other positively so when the Lord comes, as indicared in the responsorial psalm we will “sing and shout for joy for great in our midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 12:6).

·      Joy is an acronym which means J=JESUS, O: OTHERS, Y: YOU.  Authentic joy comes from a healthy relationship between Jesus, others, and you!

·      May the Lord make our Joy true and complete as we await his coming. Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!