Third sunday of Advent

Third sunday of Advent

Christianity is not all about sin, death and eternal punishment. It is about life, happiness and heaven.That is why the third sunday of Advent is called gaudet sunday or joyful sunday. We celebrate this joyful sunday praising Jesus who destroyed sin and death and showed the way to our eternal home.

once a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. then a magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. But then it became afraid of the dog.
So the magician turned it into a dog. Then it began to fear the tiger, so the magician turned it into a tiger. Whereupon it was full of fear for the hunter.
At this point, the magician gave up. He turned it into a mouse again saying, "Nothing I do for you, is going to be of any help because you have the mind of a mouse."

when we practice our faith out of fear and punishment, Church-going, receiving sacraments will become a ritual.when we come out of the fear of God and look at Him as loving Father,then we will celebate our coming to Church and other religious events.

In today's gospel, people from every walk of life come to JOhn the Baptist and ask what they have to do to celebate life, to rejoice and be happy in the lord who would be coming.
John asked them to love humanity and help others with what they had.

once a man saw a fox who lived in the deep forest that had lost its front legs.And the man who lived on the edge of the forest , seeing the fox from time to time, wondered how it managed to get its food. Then he saw a tiger bringing some food and leaving it for the fox.Then he thought to himself, "If this fox is taken care of in this mysterious way, its food sent by some unseen Higher Power, why don't I just stay in a corner and have my daily meal provided for me?"
Because he had a lot of faith, he let the days pass, waiting for food. Nothing happened. He just went on losing weight and strength until he was nearly a skeleton. Close to losing consciousness, he heard a Voice which said: "O you, who have mistaken the way, see now the Truth! You should have followed the example of that tiger instead of imitating the disabled fox."
John the batptist says those who have two coats should share with anynone who has none and whoever has food must do likewise. And so many people came to John and asked about what they had to do to prepare themselves to welcome the Son of God. And John answered them all saying, love humanity and do good to them.

once a man went to a spiritual master and asked, "How shall I get the grace of never judging my neighbor?"
"Through prayer."
"Then why have I not found it yet?"
"Because you haven't prayed in the right place."
"Where is that?"
"In the heart of God."
"And how do I get there?"
"Understand that anyone who sins does not know what he is doing and deserves to be forgiven."
yes, by accepting and helping others, we get ready to welcome the Lord our God.
This third sunday of Advent invites us to become John the baptist and let others know the love and kindness of Christ our lord. Amen.