Today’s readings bring and interesting focus and even more so for Christmas. This is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. The focus, as you can see in the readings, is one of rejoicing for Christmas is almost here. It is also an attitude of rejoice for the Lord is coming.

Obviously, we can see Paul’s words to the Philippians reflect the theme of today. He is calling us to rejoice in the Lord always. Now, that may seem an easy theme to follow especially when things are going right, but do his words affect you differently if I tell you that he is in prison when he writes them?

The time is between 59 and 63 A.D. and St. Paul is in Rome imprisoned. He is hated by the Jews for they consider him a idolator for promoting Christ and he is hated by the Romans for they consider him an idolator for promoting Christ and therefore not the cult of the emperor, who, by the way, is Nero. We all know how much Nero hated Christians. In fact, he is the one we believe was indicated by the number 666 in the Apocalypse. The year after Paul dies, Rome burns and Nero falsely blames the Christians.

However, here is St. Paul, hated by many in the world, imprisoned strictly because he is a Roman Citizen for he has a right to a hearing before they execute him. He openly says that he is in chains for the Gospel, however, he is calling on the Philippians to rejoice. Worse, they may be realizing that his fate may very clearly be his. Now let us add another dimension. In about 250 years from when this was written, Christianity will be legal in the entire empire, but until then the Christians will suffer several severe persecutions under emperors including Nero and even more so under Diocletian. In their worship, you can rest assured that these words were preached in the catacombs in the early Christian gatherings and the masses that were celebrated in homes and underground places that would become churches. One would have to say, under those conditions, how do those words make sense.

Let us add another dimension. Christians read those words today around the world including underground churches in China, prisons in North Korea, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and even in supermaximum solitary confinement prisons in our own country among people rightly convicted. How could one even take those words seriously today knowing they were written by St Paul imprisoned innocently for being an apostle of Jesus.

The answer cannot be found there, but can be found in another one of St Paul’s letters: 2 Corinthians. It is there that the apostle teaches that he has received such marvels of revelation from God; he has become aware of such profound truths that he has to suffer what he calls chastisement from an angel of Satan to prevent him from being proud. St. Paul admits that he has seen the highest levels of Heaven; he has a profound understanding of what awaits those of us who love God that any suffering here will only lead to the greatest of glories in Heaven. Therefore, he has a joy that cannot be taken away even imprisoned during the reign of the emperor Nero.

This is the essence of being disciples of Christ. It is not a system of morality, but a powerful understanding of the world around us that gives us, as one priest taught me many years ago, a little peak behind the curtain. In other words, we have a deeper vision than those who reject Christ. The same can be said in our world today.

We are here in the United States. We are learning that our country just about two weeks ago suffered another terrorist attack that was orchestrated by a foreign entity seeking the destruction of our country. This is not an angry person who is mentally ill who hates a group of people. It is rather the manifestation of an ideology that seeks the total destruction of our culture and way of life. What is worse is that the culture they are trying to destroy does not like us because we do not embrace the more worldly aspects of this same culture. Meanwhile, people to start to say, it is time to segregate certain groups for the safety of the nation and there are others including our president, who call us to come together as Americans without fear of others. The talk is unique for it reveals an acknowledgement that we have entered a new phase in our country. People are afraid. Gun sales are up. A political candidate is calling for all Muslims to be restricted from entering our country. How do we respond? Let us add that the people behind this terrorist attack hate us twice as much, we are Americans, and Catholics, another group hated by them. So they want to destroy our own country, and the country where our Pope lives as well. They hate us twice.

How do we respond? The answer can only be found if we understand who we are and where we are going. We need to allow this time of Advent and later Christmas to enlighten our minds and allow those enlightened minds to be reflected in our actions. People need to see Christians who are infused with the wisdom of Christ and live that wisdom so that can see that there is a deeper truth to seek. This is wisdom that is the fruit of embracing Christ. It cannot be learned in school found seeking a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree. It is the wisdom from on high.

This is not a time to be happy because Christmas is coming. It is a time to ask for the gift of Joy because Christ is our King and calls us to be his ambassadors to be his representatives of a Kingdom that is so profound a tiny glimpse of it made St. Paul rejoice while he was in prison in Nero’s Rome. We need to tap into that Joy that Paul wants us to have. People around us can find a thousand reasons to be filled trepidation, but we cannot. St. Paul asks us to change our whole demeanor for one reason:  Christ is our King.

He asks us to becomes signs and symbols of that eternal life. He demands that we live our life in such a way that maintains a powerful hope that turns us from sin, makes us generous and thankful for all we have, despite all we do not have and all the uncertainty we may have in our life. When we do that, we become lights that shine in the darkness.

But what is required first is our commitment to Christ and our response to do His will. For without that, we rely on a worldly wisdom that offers few answers to our current situation.

So let us not rejoice because Christmas Day is a week from Friday, but for what it represents, that Christ came that we may know a joy so great that just a glimpse of it makes a man imprisoned for his beliefs rejoice despite the fact that one who will demand his execution has the code name in the Bible: 666. A number that is 000 in the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you really want to serve your countrymen at this time, that is what they need you to do more than anything else. They need to see us as signs of the light and hope that is the hallmark of the Christian.

God bless you,

Fr. Robert J Carr

Fr. Carr is an alliance member of the New Song Community (Canção Nova). He is the pastor of Holy Trinity Quincy, MA and is the editor of this blog. He is the author of several books, blogs and hundreds of videos all of which you may find on Youtube.  You can follow him on twitter as @frbobcarr and on Google plus as+FrRobertCarr. Thoughts, comments on the homily? Let us know at Facebook