3rd Sunday of Advent: Tending our Gardens
- Megan Vareha
- Dec 17, 2017
- 3 min read
Isaiah 61: 1-2A, 10-11
Psalm: Luke 1: 46-48, 49-50, 53-54
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24
John 1: 6-8, 19-28
As the Christmas season approaches, joys of the holiday season fill the air: we decorate our homes with festive holly, hang up the icicle lights on our porches, and set up evergreens in our living spaces. Radios fill our cars with Christmas tunes we all know and love, and we find ourselves giddy as we pull out our favorite ugly Christmas sweaters.
But amidst these joyful Christmas relics around us, we often continue to carry sorrows, stresses, and heaviness within our hearts. Maybe Christmas is a mournful time, as some grieve the loss of loved ones. Perhaps it's a hectic time in the office. Or maybe we become so consumed by the stresses associated with this ever-demanding secular holiday. Whatever it may be, we all probably find ourselves in uncomfortable positions during this season.
On this Third Sunday of Advent, however, we're invited to rejoice amidst all of these stressors, for Isaiah joyfully reminds us: "in my God is the joy of my soul" (Isaiah 61). It may be hard to believe in the moment, but there is always a reason to rejoice. Why? Because God is our God. If the King of the universe, the Master of creation, and the Redeemer of the world is our Lover, than what more could we hope for?
Many times, I too become so entwined in my responsibilities and the expectations I am upheld to, those by my family, peers, professors, and myself; it's quite a challenge to live simply in the joyful life Christ offers me each day that I awake with a breath of life in my lungs. But it only takes one hard look at a crucifix to be reminded that I am Christ's, and He is mine. How amazing! Jesus rules over all Heaven and Earth, and yet, He wants to lift me up in such a way that I might experience life's greatest joys to the fullest. There's truly no greater love story.
Because of Christ's crucifix, we owe all to Him, especially in this joyous week of preparation. As my pastor elaborated upon in this morning's homily, we must strive to surrender our pride, so that we might truly be opened to Christ's entrance into our hearts this Christmas. I like to think of our hearts as a stretch of soil, waiting to bloom into a flowery meadow. Right now, our gardens might be covered in cobwebs, ridden with weeds, or may even feel completely infertile. This Advent season is a time of spiritual clean-up, a time to wipe away our iniquities, those weeds that block the Gardener's path to planting fruitful seeds in our hearts. It's almost as if John the Baptist's proclamation of "readying the way" refers to our efforts in clearing a path in the garden of our hearts, and fortunately, there are plenty of tools to help us in this effort. Consider implementing some of the following activities into your Advent plans:
Attend an Advent penance service to experience Christ's mercy in full
Pray a rosary for someone in need
Give a gift to someone who is not expecting it
Listen to Christian radio
Hang up a list of blessings you are thankful for
Attend a morning mass during the week to rejuvenate your soul
Share a Scripture passage on one of your social media accounts
Watch a special Christmas movie with your family
(*Note: many of these ideas were taken from St. Barbara's December 10th bulletin)
Once we tend to the soil, Christ can then enter into the garden room to plant seeds of joy within our hearts. Then, with frequent nourishment from God's grace through sacraments, prayers, and devotions, our hearts can bloom and overflow into meadows, projecting God's good work out into the world, calling others to tend to the soil. For as Isaiah beautifully proclaims:
"As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations" (Isaiah 61).
Let us, then, redirect our focus from the chaos of the outside world inward towards our hearts. Once we begin our individual conversions, our outside world can transform into the meadow of Christ's Kingdom!
"Come, O Lord" by Marty Haugen:
"O Key of Joy, unlock my heart,
Break away the chains that hold me close,
that keep my love from flowing to the world;
and I will try to do my part,
to open all the doors that hold me closed,
the doors that keep us far from one another.
Come, O Lord!
Come to every heart and waken all who sleep to your joy;
O Emmanuel, come to my heart,
I still look for the joy your Christmas brings,
and I would be your presence in the world."
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