Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle A. Today’s readings: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

The Secret History of Christmas, an audiobook by Bill Bryson

I recently listened to a delightful little audiobook called The Secret History of Christmas. It is written by one of my favourite authors, Bill Bryson, who manages to compress into three hours a plethora of fascinating titbits about this festival and its history.

One of the most intriguing points he makes is how close Christmas came to being killed off in the English-speaking world, mainly through the efforts of the Puritans – around the 17th century – who tried to cleanse the Church of England of any vestiges of Roman Catholicism. Christmas was a particular target of theirs because they considered it to be tainted not just by medieval popery but also by ancient pagan practices.

They had remarkable success in their efforts to purify (for which read ‘destroy’) Christmas, and for over a century – in England and in America – December 25 was just another work day, stripped of any exterior joy and celebration. I wonder what those hardcore Protestants from centuries ago would make of the fact that even many Catholic thinkers over the ages echoed their concerns that Christmas has become too secularised and bereft of genuine spiritual meaning. These concerns, though often justified, risk pushing us into that dark, joyless spirit, portrayed in literature and popular fiction by characters like Charles Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge, with his characteristic “Bah humbug!”, and Dr Seuss’s Grinch.

It is for just this reason that the Church offers us on this Third Sunday of Advent a salutary reminder that yes, Christmas is a season of intense joy. In fact, this day is referred to as Gaudete (Latin for “Rejoice”) Sunday, and the rose-coloured vestments in church stand in sharp contrast with the habitual purple.

Even today’s scriptural readings speak to us of joy. The first reading from Isaiah is replete with words like ‘exultation’, ‘rejoicing’, and ‘glory’. Nevertheless, we need to understand the source of that joy and how best it should be lived and expressed. As the saying goes, we must recall “the reason for the season”.

This reason is perfectly demonstrated in today’s gospel. Locked up in Herod’s prison, John the Baptist experiences desolation. Perhaps in that darkness, fear and pain, he second-guesses his own mission; perhaps, learning of Christ’s markedly different style of preaching and action, he now wonders if Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah.

And yet he trusts that God’s plan is still in effect. He sends messengers to Jesus to pose the question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus does not dismiss this question or take offence at it; rather he consoles John by listing all the ways in which the ancient messianic prophecies are being fulfilled: “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

In effect he is saying: the world is indeed sick and broken, but have faith: the healer is here. God himself is walking among his people, restoring hearts and lives. You just have to learn to recognise the signs of his presence, even when they are hidden in unexpected places or expressed in unimagined ways.

The world is indeed sick and broken, but have faith: the healer is here

Pope Francis reminds us that this involves conversion on our part. Not just the turning away from sin, but also converting our idea of God. “Like John, we too are called to recognise the face that God chose to assume in Jesus Christ, humble and merciful.” In the darkness of our violence-ridden world, may we still perceive the signs of our saving God, and in them find peace and joy.

bgatt@maltachurchtribunals.org