Third Sunday of Advent/ Gaudette Sunday 2025
Gaudette Sunday
Rejoice the Promised
One is Near
This Sunday is the midpoint of Advent. We are almost there, but not yet. And yet the Church calls us to be of great
joy (i.e., Gaudette) that he is near. Can
our mind’s eye, see, he is the long-awaited
one. Our readings this weekend are depicted in sharp
contrast with those of the last two
weeks. The first reading shows us a
desert scene which is coming into blossom. The depiction in that reading is not
so much about an environment as it is about a people coming into the fullness
of their relationship with God. “They
will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.” The wonder of God’s love lies before them
and among them- “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the
deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, and the tongue of the
mute will sing.” Translating this
passage into a spiritual context it might read: then: Those who live in the
darkness of ignorance will have their eyes opened to the ways of God; Those who
have not heard will understand the words of scripture are meant for them also; Those
who walk with unsure steps will walk with confidence and trust in the
Lord; And those who have been silent
will sing the praises of God’s goodness on their behalf. In that first reading, this Gaudette Sunday, God,
joyfully, is the one who is removing all the obstacles in order that the pathway
to Him will be open for all peoples. In the gospel reading, we have great contrast
this week to those of the last two weeks. For the last two weeks John was in the Jordan river
proclaiming the coming of the savior with all the strength of his voice and
everything at his command. This week, which is sometime later, he has been
arrested by the authorities and placed in prison. Certainly, it is not a happy place or place of
rejoicing. He sits there, wondering with
this thread of doubt in his mind, did he miss the Messiah? So, he sends his disciples to ask the person
that he has heard about whether or not that person is the Messiah or should everyone
look for another? John might have
thought to himself, “If you are Messiah why am I here in prison?” “I should be by your side, shouldn’t I? But there he sits with this thread of
misunderstanding, possibly he even feels a thread of doubt in the darkness of
that cell in Herod’s dungeon. But now there is nothing he can do, he must
wait. Wait for his disciples to
return. How long that period of waiting that
was we do not know. What is
happening inside of John during those days as he waits for a response? We might reflect on what is happening in our
own lives this Gaudette Sunday? Are we
in a place of questioning, perhaps even doubt?
Is there a darkness around us that we do not understand? What is the thread of faith that lingers in
us and asks us to be patient and to wait upon the Lord for answers? The other day I picked up a reflection from an
acquaintance who is also the director of a spiritual center. And in the reflection, she speaks of how at
times faith can feel like a thin thread that we are hanging onto or that hangs
onto us. But it is a thread, she seemed
to say, that invites us into mystery to better understand who we are and who is
God in our lives. Speaking of that
thread she writes … “it calls me to notice where the spirit is already
moving in the midst of the real responsibilities, relationships, and
commitments of my life, and when possible, to join the work already
unfolding. And here is the part that
surprised me. Sometimes the thread does not pull me toward what is comforting
but toward what is unfinished, the places I would rather skip over, the
conversations I avoid, the truths I pretend I do not hear. Sometimes the tug is
not a gentle invitation but a holy discomfort.”1 The
work that John must do in his cell is the same work that all of us must
do. This work is one that requires
patience within us, and to trust that
from our prayers, our little seed of faith, that God will bring to fruition the
truth we seek to understand. And Jesus
sends back to John proof of who he is, proof that, yes, he is the Messiah, the
long awaited one. In the gospel account, Jesus concludes his statement about what is
happening in the outer world with an additional blessing. Jesus says to John “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at
me.” Or, more loosely translated,
blessed is the one who is not offended, or who does not fall away, based on the
way I choose to act. In the darkness of
that cell John now has been given the answer he hoped for. And come what may, his faith, in the
trustworthiness of God, is not shaken.
And he can finally say, “He must increase, while I must decrease.” (John
3:30). In other words, “It’s all about
Him; it was never about me.” Even
James in the second reading this weekend, speaks about this need for patience
in the ways God chooses to act in our lives and on our behalf. Has it ever happened in our lives that we
find ourselves in a similar place to that of John. A place or darkness, unanswered questions, perhaps
even doubt, about what God is doing for or not doing for us? James in the
second reading this weekend uses the
imagery of the farmer who must wait patiently and watch for the first and the
last rains of spring to happen before he
can see the beginning growth from the seeds he has planted. As God is doing the work with the seeds, deep
below the soil, beyond the site of humans, so it is with our own faith. The spirit of God does its work in us deep
within us. Sometimes we get an inkling, a hint of what God may be doing. That
feeling may be like a very thin thread or something very small. But like John the Baptist, we too are invited to stay with that feeling
in silence, in patience, perhaps at times in darkness and to allow that inkling that thread of hope to
bear the sprouts of faith within our lives. So, wherever this Advent finds you, this Gaudette Sunday, in a good
place, or in a not so good place, be patient and hold onto that thread of hope
for the Lord is coming, and you will see his arrival in the dawning of his
morning, even hopefully in your lives now, but certainly in the fullness of eternity.
1. 1. Courtney
Canfijn, Executive Director, Spiritual Life Center, 12/2025
