If the theme of last Sunday was hope, we can speak of this Sunday being that of joy. I think it is possible to understand joy as the fulfillment of hope. The First Reading speaks of how the exiles will feel when God rescues them: "Rejoice and exult with all your heat, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more." (Zeph 3: 14-15) When John the Baptist appears among the people and speaks of the fiery judgement to come the people are anxious and fearful. They ask: "What should we do?" (Lk 3: 10) I think they were filled with joy when what was being asked of them was not extreme. John teaches them to live upright and moral lives so as to be at peace with one another and prepared for when the Messiah is revealed. For us the Messiah has indeed been revealed and not in a fiery judgement rather in the outpouring of God's mercy. The fruit of the resurrection for Christians is that even in our times of suffering and trial we already experience joy in Christ's victory over sin and death. St Paul, afflicted by beatings, persecution and imprisonment can write: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice." (Phil 4: 4) I encourage all parishioners, as missionary disciples, to locate joy through faith in Christ Jesus this Christmas. Know that in his Incarnation Jesus has fully entered our reality and redeemed it from its slavery to sin. This is the true and enduring source of Christian joy.
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