Third Sunday of Advent
Father Michael Elmlinger
Guest
As a kid, I always found the rose candle of the Advent wreath to be the most interesting. It was always a sign that Christmas was so close, building the anticipation. I never understood the meaning of the color rose at the time, but even then, it still gave that sense of anticipation and joy that December 25 was just around the corner.
That is exactly what rose is meant to represent on the Advent wreath. What is interesting about the color rose is that it uses the same dyes as violet (red and blue), but it tones down the blue and focuses more on the red in the product, bringing out the rose color, which essentially means that it is a toned-down version of violet, but violet nonetheless.
What this is meant to represent for us on this Gaudete Sunday is the very fact that the Advent season (short as it is) is drawing to a close, building up that joy that we feel on Christmas Day as we draw closer to it. However, it also shows that the season is still not over, that there is still time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord. It is similar to how early in the morning, just before the sun is about to break the horizon, it gives off a rose color into the sky sometimes, indicating the night is nearly over, but not quite yet.
In our second reading this weekend from the Letter of James, the Apostle tells us, “You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand” (5:8). During the hustle and bustle of the Advent season, we get this simple exhortation from the cousin of Jesus to take a step back, to recognize the present time that we are in, the time of waiting and preparation.
Christmas Day is indeed close upon us, one of the holiest days of the year, where we celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, our God becoming Man. However, that day is not here yet, and because it is not here yet, we are to still take this time to make our hearts firm.
What is interesting about this command is that this is the same activity as when Jesus turns his face towards Jerusalem and “makes his face firm.” (Luke 9:51) Once he does this, his focus is entirely shifted towards one thing: fulfilling the will of his Father by his sacrificial act of love that he will perform on the Cross. Nothing makes him waver from this determination. He is single-minded in this regard, his heart firm.
During these final days of the Advent season, anticipation is indeed building as we get closer to Christmas, but we must always keep our minds and hearts firm, fixed on Christ. So, we are to be patient, and to continue to journey during this Advent season in the present, preparing our hearts to receive the Lord.
If we are willing to journey with the Lord during these final days, it does not take away the joy of the Christmas season. Rather, it enhances the joy, because our eyes will have been fixed intently upon him, whose birth we celebrate. This Gaudete Sunday is an invitation to recenter ourselves on Our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may joyfully greet Him when he comes into our hearts at Christmas and when he comes on the Last Day. As St. James says, “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord … Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Father Michael Elmlinger is a priest of the Diocese of Covington, Ky. Father Elmlinger is currently studying Canon Law at the University of St. Paul, Ottawa, Canada.
