Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 / 1 Thess 5:16-24 / John 1:6-8, 19-28
It can be said that Christmas is the most decorative liturgical season of the Church.
There is the Christmas tree with the colourful ornaments, and the Advent wreath with the four coloured candles.
And of course, there is the Nativity Scene with the figures of the baby Jesus and Mary with Joseph, the shepherds with a couple of sheep, the donkey and the cow, and coming in later will be the three wise men.
But, no matter how nice and attractive these decorations are, there must be something else to make them look nicer.
That something is the lights. Yes, there must be lights so that the decorations will look nice and bright.
Whether it is LED lights, blinking lights, curtain lights, this season, whether it is Advent or Christmas, emphasizes the element of light.
Especially when it is the soft lighting that gives a warm glow and gives that comfy and cozy feeling.
It makes us think about home, family and loved ones, and brings back fond and warm memories.
And it also reminds us that Jesus is the true Light, who has come to scatter the darkness of sin and evil.
The gospel talks about John the Baptist, who was sent by God, to be a witness and to speak for the light.
John the Baptist is not the light, and he knows he is not the light, and he declares it.
The light that he speaks about, and witness to, is not an ordinary light.
It is a Divine Light, it is the Light of the world, and it is Jesus Christ.
As the three candles of the Advent wreath are lighted, it is also telling us that the light of our lives must also shine stronger and brighter.
And the Light of Christ is also shining on us, so that we will open our hearts to the light and respond to Jesus.
And the Light of Christ will keep shining and wait for us to respond, even if it takes a while.
A while, can mean a short time, or over many years.
A couple of days ago, I had the privilege of baptizing a rather senior person, senior as in he is 99 years old.
Recently he was hospitalized and so his family members had to bring up the sensitive topic of his funeral arrangements.
Since he does not follow any religion in particular, the family asked him what would he want his funeral arrangements to be like.
Then he asked his family what religion do they follow, and they said that they are Catholics.
He responded, that as a young boy, he studied at Catholic High school. And at that time, the school was next to the Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and that he had been in that church.
So, almost immediately, that 99 year old man said that he wanted to be a Catholic. His family was quite astonished at how quickly he came to that decision, and they immediately made arrangements.
And so, he was baptized in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the first and probably the only church he has been to.
The Light of Christ shining softly and tenderly, lighted up the heart of that 99-year-old man, although it took something like 80 years.
In this third week of Advent, the three candles of the Advent wreath are lighted, and next week, all the four candles will be lighted.
The Light of Christ is shining softly, tenderly and deeply into our hearts and into our lives.
Jesus wants to scatter the darkness of our lives, and heal the wounds of sin in our hearts.
Jesus will wait for us to respond to His love.
He waited for that 99-year-old man.
He will wait for us.