How excited should we get about Mass?
Sunday, December 12, 2021 – The Third Sunday of Advent
Imagine for a moment you are in a bar crowded with football fans and unexpectedly Tom Brady, the quarterback with seven Super Bowl wins to his credit, comes into the bar and starts greeting the patrons.
Or imagine you are having dinner in a local restaurant crowded with diners, and suddenly Beyoncé and her husband Jay Z come into the room, wave and smile at you and the other customers, and then sit down at a nearby table.
Or imagine you are on a pilgrimage to Rome and during your visit to the Sistine Chapel a side door opens, and unannounced, Pope Francis walks into the room and starts greeting everyone.
In each situation, you and everyone else would be excited, joyful, and happy to have been in the right place at the right moment. Most likely, you would be eager to tell all your friends what happened.
Excitement, joy, happiness.
Those emotions are not ones we usually associate with Sunday Mass, but perhaps we should. After all, the one we meet in church is far greater than any quarterback, any celebrity couple, or any church leader.
Our readings for this Third Sunday of Advent are all about the excitement, joy, and happiness that should be ours here at the altar of the Lord.
In our First Reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18a), the Prophet Zephaniah tells the people of Israel to “Shout for joy….Be glad and exult with all your heart…the King of Israel, the Lord is in your midst.”
In the Responsorial Psalm (Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6), the Prophet Isaiah urges us, “Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.”
In our Second Reading (Philippians 4;4-7), Paul instructs us, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice.”
Then in our Gospel (Luke 3:10-18), Luke tells us about the excitement and expectation of the people who had been told by John the Baptist that “one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.”
Their anticipation and excitement led them to ask John what they should do to be ready to meet the one who would baptize them “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
The Lord whose coming John preached and whose coming brought excitement to the people; the Lord whose presence, Zephaniah said, should cause the people to shout for joy; the Lord who Isaiah proclaimed was among his people; the Lord whose nearness led Paul to command the Philippians to rejoice−that very Lord is with us at Sunday Mass.
The Lord comes into the church to be with us as we gather for prayer. The Lord speaks to us, offering a message of hope, consolation, and challenge as the scriptures are proclaimed. The Lord invites us to share at his holy table, unites us to himself in a “holy communion” and renews his covenant, his relationship, with us.
In other words, the God of the universe, who brought us into existence, who sustains us from moment to moment, who promises that he will never abandon us to the darkness of everlasting death—he is the one who comes to us each time Mass is celebrated.
If we truly appreciated what happens at Mass, we would be filled with joy, happiness, and excitement.
Unfortunately, we can be so wrapped up in ourselves, so entranced by our digital devices, so caught up in the concerns of the moment, that we do not notice the “celebrity” who is with us at Sunday Mass.
Father Tom Iwanowski is a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Jersey City, N.J. This reflection originally appeared on his Looking to Sunday® website and was reprinted with permission.
Featured image: A nun laughs in excitement while awaiting the arrival of Pope BEnedict XVI at the papal youth rally at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. April 19. (CNS photo/Erin Siegal, Reuters) (April 19, 2008)
