On Gaudete Sunday—a day in Advent dedicated to rejoicing—the Rev. Justin Lopina will surprise his congregation by focusing his homily on sin. As the newly assigned pastoral administrator at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wauwatosa, Wis., he believes that our fear of sin—what he calls “our fear of letting God down”—often robs us of joy. When we focus on our sin, we forget that God’s love is most powerfully revealed through His mercy—and it is that mercy that is the ultimate source of our joy and the real reason to rejoice this Sunday.
This week on “Preach,” Justin joins host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., to discuss how John the Baptist’s call to repentance in the Gospel for Gaudete Sunday leads to joy more than simply moral obligations. They also explore the essentials of great preaching, emphasizing the importance of using one’s body and physical presence and keeping homilies short (around eight minutes) to maintain the congregation’s attention.
Before pursuing his vocation to the priesthood, Justin earned a physics degree and served in the Peace Corps, teaching math and science in Burkina Faso, West Africa. He is passionate about Catholic education, youth ministry, and cycling as a way to stay healthy and connect with the world around him.
Scripture Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C
First Reading: Zep 3:14-18a
Responsorial Psalm: Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Second Reading: Phil 4:4-7
Gospel: Lk 3:10-18
You can find the full text of the readings here.
Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C, by Father Justin Lopina
So, it is the Third Sunday of Advent—great stuff. Who doesn’t love Pinky Sunday, as one of my brother priests likes to put it? Well, that pink or rose color represents joy. So this is “joyful Sunday.” And our readings today are a bit opposite of the typical pattern. And by that I mean, the first reading is the obvious message, and the Gospel is the less than clear addition to that message.
For most Sundays, I would expect the Gospel to be the easy part. But today, if you recall, our first reading literally says: “Cry out, rejoice! Rejoice because God is our Lord and protector. Our true strength is so much more than a mere king. We are God’s people. So let’s be joyful.” I love it! In the Gospel, what did John the Baptist talk about? Well, to be honest, very little about joy. It was more about morality. “Hey, tax collectors only collect your quota. Don’t claim more for lining your own pockets. Soldiers don’t bully and extort people. You’re fairly well paid.”
Be thankful for what you have. And he says all of this in preparation of Jesus’ arrival. So I’ve gotta ask myself, “What’s joyful about that? Why this reading today?” Well, here’s my best answer.Doing good and being in alignment with God—which is what John the Baptist is calling for, adds to your joy. And committing sin is very often pleasurable in the moment, but it actually saps your joy over time.
So I invite you to think of it like this. I read this analogy a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it, and I can’t wait to share it. So imagine you’re in the desert and you have no water source, and a man walks up to you, he’s the devil, and he offers to help you out. Now remember, the devil is the prince of lies. He can create illusions. That is what he’s good at. So he says, “Hey, man, you look thirsty. Take this bottle of water. Hey, you know what? You need it more than me.” You take the bottle and it looks like water. It tastes like water. It tastes so good. It’s crisp, and it’s fresh, and it’s cool. But in reality, it’s a bottle of dust.
The devil can make dust, look and taste like water. He can’t actually make it quench your thirst, ‘cause the devil doesn’t really create anything other than illusions. So you drain the bottle and you say, “Wow, that was really tasty. Hmm. You know, I don’t mean to be, uh, ungrateful, but, um, I’m still thirsty.” And the devil says, “Well, of course you’re still thirsty. You’re in the desert. You gotta hydrate here. Here, take another bottle of water.” And of course, he gives you another bottle of dust. And so it goes. So you drink dust and more dust, and you’re just drying yourself out from inside out. You have no idea that what you really need is water. Real life giving water.
At this point, the story ends only one of two ways. Either you realize that you’re drinking dust and the devil is a liar, or you die of thirst, committing sins and or putting ourselves first, like tax collectors or soldiers who abuse their positions. It’s like drinking dust and expecting our thirst to be satisfied. It will only get worse because sin will never ever satisfy us.
Christ is obviously the life-giving water, and we tap into Christ’s life when we reject sin and when we do good to others; when we don’t put ourselves first, when we act like decent moral people. When we do that, a natural and yet spiritual sort of joy seeps within us, that is why this Gospel is our reading for “joyful Sunday.” When you do what is right, joy will well-up within you. Delight in doing good for others, delight in loving God, “with all your heart and all your soul,” as we heard in the first reading. If you have that, you will have a source of joy and contentment and fulfillment that will be with you in good times and in bad. But on the other hand, if you think material possessions and status are gonna make you happy, well, you might as well quench your thirst with a nice refreshing bottle of dust!
