A reading from the prophet Zephaniah (3:14-18)
Shout for joy, daughter Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed your sentence;
he has turned your enemy away.
The Lord is king among you, Israel:
you have nothing more to fear.
On that Day, it will be said to Jerusalem,
‘Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp.’
The Lord your God is within you,
the saving warrior.
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love,
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.
I have taken away your misfortune,
I no longer need you bear the disgrace of it.
These words come towards the end of the book of the prophet Zephaniah, and round the book off with psalms of joy. In words reminiscent of Isaiah 40, which proclaimed that the ‘penalty has been paid’, Zephaniah declares that the sentence (mishpat) has been ‘removed’. The Lord is ‘king’ among the people, who are told there is nothing more to fear. The Lord himself is a saving ‘warrior’ who will rejoice, renewing Israel with his love, and dancing with joy, because Sion’s ‘misfortune’ has ended.
Isaiah 12 This short chapter of Isaiah serves as a responsorial psalm. It proclaims God as ‘my salvation’ and speaks of drawing water ‘joyfully from the springs of salvation’.
A reading from the letter of saint Paul to the Philippians (4:4-7)
Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice. Let your good sense be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything; but in every prayer and petition make your requests known to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God which is beyond all understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Remembering the affection of the Christians of Philippi Paul urges them to rejoice (chairein) constantly. The opening words of this reading have become prominent in the liturgy of this day, which is consequently known as Gaudete Sunday. The Philippians are filled with joy because they have received ‘good sense’ from the Lord, and the Lord is near. There is an insistence on prayer and thanksgiving. Their confidence in the goodness of God means that the ‘peace (eirene) of God’, which surpasses understanding, will guard them ‘in Christ Jesus’.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (3:10-18)
And the crowds asked John, ‘What should we do, then?’ He answered them, saying, ‘Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food must do the same.’ Tax collectors, too, came to be baptised, and they said to him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the rate appointed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘What about us? What should we do?’ He said to them, ‘No intimidation! No false accusation! Be content with your pay!’
There was a feeling of expectancy among the people; they were all questioning in their hearts whether John might himself be the Messiah. John answered them all by saying, ‘I baptise you with water, but one more powerful than me is coming, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that never goes out.’ And he proclaimed the good news to the people with many other exhortations too.
John’s preaching about the ‘wrath to come’ (3:7) is followed by words from different groups with the repeated question, ‘what should we do?’ Only Luke gives these details. His first instruction, in keeping with prophetic custom, is that clothes and food should be shared with the needy. Tax collectors are told to collect the proper rate of tax, not lining their pockets. Soldiers are told not to intimidate, or accuse falsely and to be content with their pay. The expectancy among the crowd raises the question of John’s real mission, leading him to speak of the baptism of the one who is ‘more powerful’ which will be given ‘with the Holy Spirit and with fire’. John also expects that the Messiah will ‘burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out’. Luke says that, like Jesus, he ‘proclaimed the good news’ (euaggelizesthai) to the people.
Is John right to speak of the fire of judgement?
Each group, each person, needs to enquire: ‘What should I do?’