Sunday Readings for December 13-14, Third Sunday of Advent
By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission
As we enter into the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, also known as “That Sunday When We Wear Pink” (or Rose… depending on who wins the argument). So, let’s just get this out of the way, make a liturgical compromise, and call the color “liturgical blush.”
But beneath the chuckles and the candle confusion, this Sunday is a holy interruption. A flash of joy (Gaudete means rejoice) in the middle of longing. A reminder that even now — in the ache, the weariness, the not-yet — good news is being proclaimed. Joy blooms in dry places, sings through cracked voices, and dares to say: “Be strong, fear not. Here is your God” (Is 35:4).
The readings for this Third Sunday of Advent are not just ancient promises; they are present-tense proclamations. Isaiah 35 opens like a holy invitation to hope: “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom” (Is 35:1). Not someday. Not when the world is fixed. But now, while spirits are weary and hearts are still frightened, the promise is not postponed.
The promise is given to us: We who wonder or worry. We who carry quiet griefs — fractured friendships, uncertain futures, the ache of watching someone we love fade or flail. We who try to sing carols while wondering if joy is still a thing we can trust.
Into this, the Word leaps: “Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!” (Is 35:4). Not because we’ve earned it. Not because we’ve solved it. But because God comes. With recompense, yes — but not the kind we fear. The kind that heals. That opens blind eyes, unstops deaf ears and makes the mute sing again.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus echoes Isaiah, answering John’s prison-bound question with a litany of liberation: “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk… the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Mt 11:5). It’s not just a checklist of miracles. It’s a manifesto of mercy. A declaration that the kingdom is a touch, a voice, a presence that lifts the bowed down and feeds the hungry.
And this litany is happening — even now. Even in our diocese. Even in our homes and workplaces. Even in the quiet corners of our communities, where a child’s off-key “Away in a Manger” might be the holiest sound of the season. So, we proclaim the Good News — not just with words, but with candlelight, with laughter and with lament. We proclaim it in the way we light the Advent wreath, even when the table’s cluttered. We proclaim in the way we show up for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, not because we’ve got it all together, but because we’re tired of pretending we do. We proclaim it when we drop off groceries for the food pantry, when we visit someone lonely, when we say grace over a meal that’s mostly leftovers and love.
We proclaim joy by daring to believe that sorrow and sighing will flee, because we’re loved. Loved by a God who meets us not at our best, but in our need. Who whispers, even now, “Be strong, fear not.”
The readings for Sunday, December 14, can be found at Third Sunday of Advent | USCCB.