Message for the Third Sunday in Advent – December 15, 2024
Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Light brings joy. Bring any child to a store or park at Christmas to see the lights and the excitement and joy will erupt and show all over their faces and adults are no exception. Seeing Christmas lights stir within us a pleasant feeling of anticipation, even a transient feeling of joy. Another way that light brings joy is to have your electricity return after an extended period of power outage.
As is customary in the Anglican community, we celebrate the season of Advent with the Advent wreath and the candles. The wreath signifies three things, the eternity of God, the immortality of the human soul, and the everlasting life we can find in Christ. The four candles represent the light of Christ entering the world. Today, the pink candle will be lit and this candle represents the joy that comes from penitential reflection to joyful anticipation as the coming of Christ draws near.
Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. This scripture verse comes from Isaiah 60:1 and encourages us to wake up from slumber, draw near to Christ, meditate on the word of God so that the light of Christ can shine through and positively impact those around us. The light in your life is for the world to see that your Father in heaven is real and is to be glorified as noted in Matthew 5:14 -16.
In today’s reading from Zephaniah, the prophet was encouraging Israel to be joyful as God through his mighty power, planned to restore the blessings and fortunes of his people Israel, so, that those around them would see their mighty God at work on their behalf. Philippians 4:4 from our second reading today suggests that true joy can only be found in Jesus Christ, and we are also commanded here to be joyful. This we must do with intent and the apostle Paul even repeats it to emphasize its importance.
Real joy will never come from the material things we possess, the nice car, the fabulous house, the big investments in the bank. That kind of joy is temporary and fleeting. The source of real joy, everlasting joy, can only be found in Jesus Christ.
During this advent season if you have not yet done so, take Jesus Christ into your heart, get into God’s word, so that your light can shine and bring joy not only to yourself but to those around you.
Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Amen.