Now I have gathered comprehensive research on all the readings. Let me output the complete research document for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A.

Lectionary Research: Third Sunday of Advent (Year A)

December 14, 2025 — Gaudete Sunday

Liturgical Context

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday (from the Latin gaudete, meaning “rejoice”). The name comes from the introit for this day: “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete” — “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Liturgical Color: Rose (or pink), representing joy breaking through the penitential purple of the Advent season. This mirrors Laetare Sunday during Lent — both are moments of pause and encouragement midway through penitential seasons.

The Rose Candle: On this Sunday, the rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath is lit. The Advent wreath itself is a Lutheran tradition, originating in 16th-century Germany. Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808–1881), a Lutheran pastor, is credited with developing the modern form in 1839. The pink/rose candle symbolizes joy in the midst of darkness — a reminder that the Light is drawing near.

Theme of the Day: Joy in anticipation. While Advent is a season of waiting and preparation, Gaudete Sunday turns our eyes forward with gladness. The readings converge on the theme that God’s salvation is not merely promised but actively breaking into the world.

Old Testament: Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. (Isaiah 35:1-2a)

Historical Context

Isaiah 35 follows immediately after the judgment oracle of Isaiah 34 against Edom and the nations. The literary structure is deliberate: total judgment (ch. 34) followed by complete salvation (ch. 35). This chapter speaks to the Judahite exiles of the 6th century BCE, offering comfort to a people who had lost temple, land, and sovereignty.

The original context points to the return from Babylonian exile — a new exodus through the wilderness. But the language transcends that immediate application, pressing toward eschatological fulfillment.

Textual Notes

Verses 1-2: Creation itself participates in redemption. The wilderness, the Arabah (desert plain), blooms with “the glory of Lebanon” and “the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.” These are regions famed for their beauty and fertility. The transformation reverses the curse of the Fall.

Verses 3-4: A direct word of pastoral encouragement: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’”

The Hebrew word for “anxious” (mahar) suggests a heart racing with fear. God’s response addresses both the internal (anxious heart) and external (weak hands, feeble knees) manifestations of despair.

Verses 5-6a: Signs of the messianic age:

• “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened”
• “The ears of the deaf unstopped”
• “The lame man leap like a deer”
• “The tongue of the mute sing for joy”

These are the very signs Jesus cites in response to John the Baptist’s question in today’s Gospel (Matthew 11:5). Isaiah 35 is not merely background; it is the script Jesus follows.

Verses 6b-7: Waters break forth in the wilderness; streams in the desert. The burning sand becomes a pool. This imagery recalls Israel’s wilderness wandering (Exodus 17; Numbers 20) while pointing forward to the living water that Christ provides (John 4:10-14; 7:37-38).

Verses 8-10: The “Highway of Holiness” (derek haqqodesh). This is no ordinary road:

• The unclean shall not pass over it
• Wayfarers, “though fools,” shall not go astray
• No lion or ravenous beast threatens
• Only “the redeemed” (ge’ulim) and “the ransomed” (peduyim) walk there

The Hebrew words ge’ulim (redeemed) and peduyim (ransomed) carry covenantal weight. The go’el is the kinsman-redeemer — the one who pays the price to rescue family from bondage or debt. Christ is our Go’el, who ransomed us not with silver or gold but with his precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The chapter concludes with the ransomed returning to Zion “with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Lutheran Confessional Connections

The movement from judgment (Isaiah 34) to salvation (Isaiah 35) exemplifies the Law-Gospel dynamic. The exile represents bondage to sin — “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves” (Lutheran confession). The Highway of Holiness is the way opened by Christ alone.

Luther emphasized that we contribute nothing to our salvation. The highway is prepared by God; the redeemed walk it by grace through faith. Even “fools” will not go astray — not because of their wisdom but because of the clarity of the Way.

Preaching Notes

The “body” language of Isaiah 35 is striking: weak hands, feeble knees, anxious hearts, blind eyes, deaf ears, lame legs, mute tongues. The suffering of exile manifests in broken bodies. The Gospel does not merely forgive sins in abstract — it heals the whole person. This is why Jesus’ ministry involved so much physical healing: the Kingdom breaks in bodily.

For a congregation with aging members, those struggling with chronic illness, or those experiencing spiritual exhaustion, Isaiah 35 offers concrete hope. The wilderness will bloom. The weak hands will be strengthened. Sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Psalm: Psalm 146:5-10

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever. (Psalm 146:5-6)

Alternative: Luke 1:46b-55 (The Magnificat)

Literary Context

Psalm 146 opens the final Hallel (praise) collection that concludes the Psalter (Psalms 146-150). Each of these five psalms begins and ends with “Praise the LORD!” (Hallelujah). The psalm provides a fitting response to Isaiah 35 — where Isaiah prophesies God’s coming salvation, the psalmist praises the God who accomplishes it.

Textual Notes

Verse 5: A beatitude (‘ashre — “happy/blessed are those…”) that parallels Isaiah 35:4 and anticipates Jesus’ Beatitudes. Blessedness comes not from human resources but from trusting “the God of Jacob.”

Verse 6: The God being praised is the Creator — “who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.” The same God who created can re-create.

Verses 7-9: A catalog of God’s saving actions that directly parallels both Isaiah 35 and Jesus’ response in Matthew 11:

• “executes justice for the oppressed”
• “gives food to the hungry”
• “sets the prisoners free”
• “opens the eyes of the blind”
• “lifts up those who are bowed down”
• “loves the righteous”
• “watches over the strangers”
• “upholds the orphan and the widow”

Verse 9b: “But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Even in a psalm of praise, the Law sounds — there are consequences for unbelief and injustice.

Verse 10: “The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.” The psalm concludes with the eschatological hope of God’s eternal reign.

Connection to the Magnificat

The alternate reading (Luke 1:46b-55) shares these same themes. Mary’s song celebrates the God who:

• “has shown strength with his arm”
• “has scattered the proud”
• “has brought down the powerful from their thrones”
• “has lifted up the lowly”
• “has filled the hungry with good things”
• “has sent the rich away empty”

Both texts celebrate divine reversal — the upending of worldly expectations that characterizes God’s kingdom.

Lutheran Connections

The psalmist’s warning against trusting in “princes” (v. 3) or “mortals” (v. 3) resonates with Luther’s emphasis on faith in God alone (sola fide). Human resources fail; only God’s word endures forever.

Epistle: James 5:7-10

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. (James 5:7)

Context in James

This passage comes near the conclusion of James’s letter, following a prophetic denunciation of the wealthy who have oppressed workers (5:1-6). James now turns to encourage the community that has suffered under this oppression. The exhortation to patience presupposes the context of suffering.

Textual Notes

Verse 7: The Greek word for “be patient” (makrothymeō) appears three times in this passage (vv. 7, 8, 10). It combines makros (long) and thymos (passion/temper) — literally “long-tempered.” This is the opposite of quick-tempered irritability.

The farmer analogy is apt for a Palestinian audience. The “early rain” came in October-November to soften ground for planting; the “late rain” in March-April brought the crop to maturity. Between these rains, the farmer waits — unable to hurry the process.

Verse 8: “Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near” (parousia). The verb “strengthen” (stērizō) means to establish, make firm, fix in place. The same word describes Jesus “setting his face” toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). It suggests resolve and commitment.

The nearness of the Lord’s coming (parousia) is both temporal encouragement (“hang on — it won’t be long”) and existential reality (the Lord is always near to those who call on him).

Verse 9: “Do not grumble against one another.” Suffering communities often turn on each other. James warns against this — the Judge stands at the door and will evaluate how we have treated one another.

Verse 10: The prophets serve as examples of patience in suffering. They spoke “in the name of the Lord” and suffered for it, yet persevered. The verb “suffered” (kakopatheia) encompasses all forms of hardship and distress.

Lutheran Confessional Connections

Luther famously called James “an epistle of straw,” primarily because of its emphasis on works in chapter 2. Yet Luther also recognized James’s pastoral value. The call to patience is not a call to earn salvation through endurance but a fruit of faith that trusts God’s promises.

The Advent connection is direct: we wait between Christ’s first coming (Bethlehem) and his return (the parousia). This “between time” requires patience, but it is not empty waiting. Like the farmer, we participate in God’s work even while we wait for the harvest.

Preaching Notes

The agricultural metaphor speaks to the rhythm of faith. There are seasons of planting (active proclamation), seasons of rain (the Spirit’s work), and seasons of apparent dormancy (when nothing seems to be happening). Patience acknowledges that we do not control the harvest — God does.

For congregations in “dormant” seasons — numerically declining, losing young people, struggling to maintain programs — James offers perspective. The harvest is coming. Strengthen your hearts.

Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3)

Context

John the Baptist is in prison. Herod Antipas has arrested him for denouncing Herod’s marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife (Matthew 14:3-4). From prison, John hears reports of Jesus’ ministry — but what he hears puzzles him.

John’s Question (vv. 2-3)

“Are you the one who is to come (ho erchomenos), or shall we look for another?”

This is not necessarily doubt but clarification. John had proclaimed a coming one who would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11), who would clear the threshing floor, gather wheat, and burn chaff (3:12). John expected judgment and purging.

But Jesus was healing the sick, eating with tax collectors and sinners, and proclaiming the kingdom — without immediately overthrowing Rome or purging the wicked. Where was the fire?

Luther addressed this text in his Church Postil for the Third Sunday in Advent. He notes that the question may have been for the benefit of John’s disciples more than for John himself: “St. Ambrose thinks John asked this question neither in ignorance nor in doubt; but in a Christian spirit” — to instruct those who would become followers of Christ.

Jesus’ Response (vv. 4-6)

Jesus does not give a direct yes or no. Instead, he points to his works:

• “The blind receive their sight”
• “The lame walk”
• “Lepers are cleansed”
• “The deaf hear”
• “The dead are raised”
• “The poor have good news preached to them”

Every item echoes Isaiah’s prophecies (Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). Jesus is saying: Look at what the prophets said the Messiah would do. Look at what I am doing. Draw your own conclusion.

Verse 6: “And blessed is the one who is not offended (skandalizō) by me.”

The Greek word skandalizō (related to skandalon, stumbling block) means to be tripped up, caused to fall, led into sin or error. Jesus knows that he does not fit expectations — not John’s, not Israel’s, not ours. He is a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Blessed is the one who does not stumble over his poverty, his association with sinners, his suffering, his cross. Blessed is the one who sees through appearances to reality.

Jesus’ Praise of John (vv. 7-11)

After John’s disciples leave, Jesus addresses the crowds about John:

“What did you go out to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” (v. 7) — No, John was not a wavering, spineless figure who bent with political pressure. He rebuked Herod to his face.

“Someone dressed in soft robes?” (v. 8) — No, those are in royal palaces. John wore camel’s hair and ate locusts. He was not seeking comfort or favor.

“A prophet? Yes… and more than a prophet” (v. 9) — John is the messenger of Malachi 3:1, the voice crying in the wilderness of Isaiah 40:3, the Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:14).

“Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (v. 11a). This is extraordinary praise. John surpasses Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah.

“Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (v. 11b). This is even more extraordinary. Not because the least in the kingdom is personally superior to John, but because they stand on the other side of the cross and resurrection. John announced the Messiah’s coming; the least in the kingdom proclaims the Messiah has come, died, risen, and reigns.

Lutheran Confessional Connections

The Law-Gospel pattern is embedded in this text:

• Law: John’s proclamation of coming judgment was accurate — the fire is coming. The chaff will be burned.
• Gospel: But first, the Messiah comes to heal, to save, to raise the dead, to proclaim good news to the poor.

Jesus does not rebuke John for his question. Doubt and confusion are not the opposite of faith; they are often its companions. Jesus answers John not with condemnation but with evidence. Faith feeds on Christ’s works.

Luther noted that Jesus’ praise of John served to rebuke the wavering crowds: “You have heard John’s witness concerning me, but now you do not adhere to it, you take offense at me and your hearts are wavering.”

The Offense of Christ

Jesus remains offensive. He does not fit our expectations. We want a Christ who:

• Confirms our politics
• Blesses our preferences
• Punishes our enemies now
• Makes us comfortable

But this Christ eats with sinners, calls us to take up our cross, delays judgment, and puts the last first. Blessed is the one who is not offended.

Thematic Connections Across the Readings

1. The Signs of the Kingdom

Isaiah 35 prophesies that when God comes to save, “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

Psalm 146 praises the God who “opens the eyes of the blind… lifts up those who are bowed down… watches over the strangers… upholds the orphan and the widow.”

Jesus (Matthew 11:5) points to exactly these signs: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”

The readings form a complete testimony: prophecy (Isaiah), praise (Psalm), fulfillment (Matthew).

2. Joy in Waiting

Gaudete Sunday’s theme of joy runs through each text:

• Isaiah 35: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom… They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
• Psalm 146: “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob.”
• James 5: Patience is not grim endurance but anticipation — like a farmer confident of harvest.
• Matthew 11: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” — makarios, the same word used in the Beatitudes.

3. The Already and Not Yet

The readings hold together the tension of Advent:

• The kingdom has come (Jesus’ healings demonstrate it)
• The kingdom is coming (James calls for patience until the parousia)
• Creation itself participates (Isaiah’s blooming wilderness)
• We live in the “between time” — after Bethlehem, before the Return

4. Patience in Suffering

John is in prison. The prophets suffered (James 5:10). The exiles in Babylon mourned (Isaiah 35 background). Psalm 146 addresses the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoners.

Joy in Advent is not naive optimism but hope that has passed through suffering. “Strengthen the weak hands… be patient… the Lord is near.”

Suggested Sermon/Blog Themes

Theme 1: “What Did You Expect?”

Focus: Matthew 11:2-6 — John’s question and Jesus’ answer

John expected fire; Jesus brought healing. We often expect a Christ who confirms our desires; Jesus subverts our expectations.

Law: Our disappointment with Jesus often reveals our false expectations. We want a Messiah who makes life comfortable, defeats our enemies, and makes us right.

Gospel: The Christ who doesn’t meet our expectations does something better — he meets our needs. We wanted vindication; he gave forgiveness. We wanted power; he gave love. We wanted a king; he gave a Savior.

Application: Advent invites us to examine our expectations. Are we looking for a Messiah of our own design, or are we willing to receive the One who actually came? Blessed is the one who is not offended.

Theme 2: “The Highway Home”

Focus: Isaiah 35:8-10 — The Highway of Holiness

The exiles thought they were lost forever. God built a highway through the wilderness — not just a road to Jerusalem but a way to himself.

Law: We are in exile. We have wandered into the wilderness of sin, alienated from God and each other. We cannot build a road home.

Gospel: Christ is the Way (John 14:6). He prepared the Highway of Holiness with his own blood. On this road, even fools cannot go astray. The ransomed of the Lord return with songs of everlasting joy.

Application: For those feeling lost — spiritually, emotionally, vocationally — Isaiah 35 announces that God has made a way. You don’t have to find your own path. The Highway is prepared. Walk in it.

Theme 3: “Patient Farmers and Impatient Saints”

Focus: James 5:7-10 — Patience until the Lord’s coming

The farmer cannot hurry the rain. He cannot force the crop to mature. But he is not passive — he plants, tends, and waits.

Law: We are impatient. We want results now. We want God to act on our timeline. Our impatience reveals our distrust.

Gospel: God’s timing is perfect. The early rain and the late rain come when they are needed. Christ came at “just the right time” (Romans 5:6). He will return at just the right time.

Application: For congregations weary of waiting — for growth, for revival, for answers to prayer — James counsels patience. This is not passive resignation but active trust. Keep planting. Keep tending. The harvest will come.

Liturgical Considerations

Colors and Vestments

• Rose is traditional for Gaudete Sunday
• If rose is unavailable, purple may be used, but the third (rose) candle on the Advent wreath should still be lit
• Some congregations lighten other decorations or add touches of pink/rose to flowers or paraments

Hymn Suggestions

• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (especially stanzas referencing Israel’s deliverance)
• “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding”
• “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People”
• “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”
• “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”
• “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”

Prayers

The collect for the Third Sunday of Advent typically emphasizes joy and preparation:

“Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Advent Wreath

• Light the rose candle along with the two purple candles already lit
• Some traditions identify this as the “Shepherd’s Candle” or “Candle of Joy”
• The rose color breaks the purple pattern visually, signaling the joy that marks this Sunday

Sources Consulted

• Working Preacher Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-10
• 1517.org: Old Testament Isaiah 35:1-10 (Advent 3: Series A)
• Working Preacher Commentary on Matthew 11:2-11
• Working Preacher Commentary on James 5:7-10
• Working Preacher Commentary on Psalm 146:5-10
• Steadfast Lutherans: Sermon on James 5:7-11
• CPH Blog: Digging Deeper into James 5:7-11
• Luther’s Sermon on Matthew 11:2-10 (Church Postil)
• LCMS: Lutheran Advent Traditions
• Wikipedia: Gaudete Sunday
• Vanderbilt Lectionary: Third Sunday of Advent, Year A