HOMILY: Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)
Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, James 5:7-10 and Matthew 11:2-11.
14 December 2025
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
A few years ago, I visited a woman grieving the loss of her husband. Every time I checked on her, she would say, “Father, I have been praying… pero wala naman nagbabago.” (I have been praying but nothing is happening.) One afternoon, I found her watering a small plant and she was still looking rather sad. When she saw me, she pointed to a tiny leaf that had just sprouted: “Kahapon, wala ‘yan. (Yesterday it was not there.) Kaninang umaga, may umusbong. Hindi pa bulaklak… pero may buhay na.” (Today, something sprouted. It is not a flower yet but there is a sign of life.) That little leaf made her smile because something had begun. A small, quiet grace.
Gaudete Sunday is exactly like that — we have joy not because the desert has become a garden, but because the first green shoot has appeared. Amidst our advent experience of expectant waiting, we are able to rejoice at small proofs of a promise to be fulfilled at the end. We know that deserts cannot become lush and green overnight, but Isaiah does relay God’s promise that the desert will bloom! God’s work is real, but often slow, hidden, and easy to miss. That is why James, in our Second Reading tells us to be patient like a farmer who cannot rush the seed but trusts that life is growing beneath the soil.
In our gospel, we see that John the Baptist is literally waiting in the darkness of a prison, wondering what will become of him. Upon hearing of the works of Christ, he sends his own disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the One?” Jesus does not perform a dramatic miracle to convince them — He simply points to the slow, steady signs of the Kingdom: the blind beginning to see, the poor receiving hope. That is all John got — a verbal assurance, passed on by messengers, that although, not everything was finished, something had begun. That was enough for John.
If we dig deeper into the experience of John, we can say that he missed out on a lot in his day. Poor John was beheaded at just about the time Jesus had begun His public ministry. He never really got to witness first-hand the miracles of Jesus, listen to Jesus’ preaching, or see how crowds flocked to Him. He never got to be there at the crucifixion to comfort his Aunt Mary and his tortured cousin. He never got to be in awe of the resurrected Christ or to receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost! Perhaps, this is why Jesus said that although John was a great prophet, “the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). Who are the least? That would be all of us who have come to know Jesus and have believed in Him and His teachings. We are the “least” because by our merit, we will never measure up to the great virtue of John the Baptist. Our advantage over him is our experience of Jesus who is Lord and King! We now belong to the era that has had a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven in our lifetime. This is what we can celebrate! That is the small sign pointing to something greater that we can look forward to.
My friends, maybe some of us feel like that grieving woman in my story earlier — still waiting, still praying, still hurting. Much of our lives is marked by pain, disappointment, anxiety, and uncertainty, for we live in a world that is not yet whole — world shaped by human imperfection and the lingering presence of sin. However, this is not the end of our story. We are still in the middle — waiting for the end Jesus promised — His return, His reign, and the establishment on earth of His Kingdom of mercy, justice, love and peace! Gaudete Sunday invites us to look again at our situation. Is there a small leaf somewhere in our life? A softened heart? A quiet peace? A tiny step toward healing? That is a sign that the Kingdom of God is alive and slowly making manifest in our world. This is proof that one day, the earth will come to know the full glory and splendour of God’s Kingdom!
Thus, let us open our eyes and our hearts because often, the signs seem small. Still, this is grace. This is enough reason to hope! This is God already at work. And this is enough for us to be joyful!
Sunday Gospel Reflections 