GOD OF SURPRISES

Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday। Gaudete means Joy. The Mass for the Third Sunday begins with this Antiphon: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice! The Lord is near (Phil 4:4-5). The reason for the joy is that in Jesus we have a different kind of God. Jesus is coming not to condemn but to comfort; not to punish but to promote; not to destroy but to save.

Most of the ancient religions including Judaism that John the Baptist represents present a scary picture of God. Announcing the coming of the Lord, John said, “Messiah is coming with winnowing Fan. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fear.” Things did not happen the way John predicted. Jesus came with a different image. He became a friend of sinners. Jesus invited them for conversion with a sympathetic heart. Paradoxically, the Jesus ‘preached’ and the Jesus ‘encountered’ by John was different. As a result, John was puzzled about the identity of Jesus. He sent his disciples to Jesus for clarifications.

The good news about the incarnation is the new revelation of God. God is not a God of horror. He is a God of compassion and mercy. It is not the sword but unconditional love is his weapon। He is a loving father who is completely interested in our well-being. Jesus revealed the reign of God by ‘giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and life to the dead.” This was what Prophet Isaiah also prophesied about the Messiah (Isaiah 35:1-10).

Often we approach God with our preconceived ideas। At times, we make absolute statements about God. The truth is that God is beyond our comprehension. The moment we define God, God becomes an idol. The moment we define God we miss Him. Let God defines us instead we define God. Approach God with a receptive spirit, God will surprise us. If we approach God with our own criteria, we receive only in that proportion.

Recently I read a story about a retired teacher। She decided to volunteer some of her times to tutor children at a children’s hospital. She was given the name and room number of a nine-year-old boy. With all excitement, she went to the Children’s hospital. She was shocked to find that he was in the burn unit. His condition was pathetic. She thought of going back home. She, however, got some courage and told the boy, “I will be your teacher while you are here. I am going to teach you English grammar. This will help you in your future.” She spent half an hour with the boy and returned home. She, however, thought that she was wasting time on this boy, and decided not to return. A few days later the boy’s mom called her and said,” Please come and teach my son. After your visit he started responding to the medicine.” The teacher returned to the hospital the following day. As soon as the boy saw the teacher, he said to his mother, “Mother I know I will live. If were dying they would not have sent her to teach me.”

Had we been hopeless and condemned, God would not have sent Jesus to the world. We are precious and priceless being before God. God trust us. God has great plans for us. Jesus came to reveal the heart of God for us. It does not matter who we are today. What is important is who we want to become. As every saint had a past, every sinner has a future. Jesus, who healed the blind, raised the dead….is with us. Do not be afraid! Let us approach him with our blindness and deafness…. He will bring us back to life. There is hope. Where there is hope, there is joy.