In hindsight, we think we can see the real meaning of an event. Often, we imagine a better way to have handled something or to have understood what was going on at a particular moment. We often begin our rethinking saying, "If only I had known ..."

When it comes to the books of the New Testament, the authors made ample use of hindsight to reinterpret the past, illuminate their present and imagine their future. New Testament authors interpreted the crucifixion through the lens of Isaiah's suffering servant (Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52), and the Nativity through Isaiah 7:14, which says, "A virgin will conceive and give birth." Most of the time, the contemporary interpretation has little to do with the meaning the passage conveyed at the time it was written.

Remembering that, we can ponder today's selection from Micah, a prophet whose name means, "Who is like God?" True to his name, Micah prophesies that God will call forth a new leader from insignificant Bethlehem.

God seems to be avoiding Jerusalem, perhaps because it was a seat of civil power and the location of the temple, the crown jewels of Israel. The humble savior/ruler Micah describes is the antithesis of a great king. Micah describes him as a shepherd thoroughly dedicated to his sheep. 

While Micah mentions Bethlehem and a birth there, his description of this savior's unexpected character offers a deeper prophecy about the character and mission of the one to come. We need to remember that looking backward into the Scriptures to find evidence to prove a thesis is a method that can lead us to misinterpret God's word in dangerous ways.

The encounter between Mary and Elizabeth, like Micah's prophecy, portrays the wonders God draws forth from what seems to be insignificant. Luke tells us that after offering herself totally to God, Mary hastened to visit Elizabeth, her kinswoman. Their encounter symbolizes a meeting on the threshold between the old and new covenants.

Elizabeth and Zachariah mirror Abraham and Sarah, people of hopeful faith and the ideal people of God. Luke presents their son, John, as the noblest that nature could produce.

In contrast, Mary's pregnancy was not natural. As Gabriel promised, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and from her flesh would come the Son of the Most High.

The encounter between Mary and Elizabeth is much more than a family affair. In this moment, faith-filled and generous women from two generations recognized one another for what they were: genuine collaborators with God's action in the world, holy women willing to allow God's plan for creation to happen through them.

Just as God's marvelous works didn't take place in Jerusalem, we note that Zechariah, the priest and representative of the Temple and its religious sacrifices, couldn't speak a word as he beheld the wonders taking place. What God was doing was more than the temple could produce. Thus, the author quotes Psalm 40: "Sacrifices and offerings you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me." This is what the Incarnation is all about.

In Luke's telling of the story, when she said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, may God's will come about in and through me," Mary responded with all that God hopes for and from humanity. Mary offered her very body, her entire life. 

As Mary came into her presence, Elizabeth seemed to understand immediately what was happening, and it led her to sing out the first beatitudes of the Gospels, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ... Blessed are you who believe that what God has promised will be fulfilled."

These beatitudes describe the life of faith and God's relationship with creation. They remind us that God created everything simply to share divine joy.

Elizabeth recognizes Mary as a holy woman, a disciple who listens to God's call and welcomes God's presence. Mary knows that everything comes from the God who will "accomplish [in us] far more than we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). Elizabeth's two beatitudes proclaim what the Law cannot offer: God will become incarnate through those who believe and are willing to allow grace to work through them.

Today's Gospel invites us to perceive and celebrate how creation is pregnant with God. The Incarnation began with creation. It continues to the extent that believers are willing to be permeated by the Spirit and say, "Behold, I come to do your will."

Jesus' incarnation happened in one moment of history. From the manger to the cross, it was hard to believe in such a simple, humble God. It still is.

Let's ask Elizabeth and Mary to help us see what is happening among us, to discover God's workings and to leap for joy.

This Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday.  Pope Francis has consistently called us to live with joy, most especially in his apostolic exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel," in which we find the word joy 110 times.

Zephaniah, who proclaims joy to us today, is of the "minor prophets." All we really know about him is that he's the son of Cushi, a name that comes from Ethiopia, and that he lived around 600 B.C. To put his message into context, it's good to note that before the passage we hear today, Zephaniah predicted that God would choose a faithful remnant who would be the future of the chosen people. This remnant, called the anawim, were "a people humble and lowly" (Zephaniah 3:12-13). It's to these poor and faithful people that God says, "Rejoice!"

Although we know little about him, Zephaniah presents us with a remarkable image of God. He depicts God as One whose very nature it is to forgive, "The Lord has removed the judgment against you [and] is in your midst." Then comes the greatest novelty of Zephaniah's image of God: "[God] will rejoice over you with happy song, renew you by love, [and God] will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival (Zephaniah 3:17-18).

What a picture! God, so in love with humanity that divine joy explodes into dance. Rejoice!

Long before this, when Moses gave the people the Law around 1300 B.C., God told the chosen people, "Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). God's dance and command to be holy portray God's desire for an ever-deeper relationship with humanity, a relationship that gives joy to both sides (John 17:20-21) This leads us to Luke's presentation of how John the Baptist described the concrete implications of being holy.

Luke tells us that when soldiers and tax collectors came to John, he instructed them to do their work with integrity and respect. He didn't expect to turn selfish or bullying people into instant saints. Even a little change of their ways would help others immensely and, by changing their behavior, they were on the road to more.

Some ordinary people took John's message to heart and asked what they should do. This group mirrored the anawim, people whose hope was the greatest wealth they possessed. To them, John said: "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the one who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise."

While that sounds excessively demanding of the poor, it's probably what they were already doing. Very often, those who have almost nothing act with special compassion for others who have little or less than they.

These people demonstrate the freedom that Paul recommended to the Philippians. The ability to give from their want frees them from anxiety. They know and show by the way they behave that the good news is happening in their midst.

Paul was teaching the Philippians how to pray as a community whose life presents good news to the poor. Paul tells them to pray with thanksgiving and to ask for what they need because they know that a praying community will do everything possible to ensure the good of all.

As a community grows in kindness, they will increasingly know "the peace that surpasses all understanding." They may not get everything they want — or even need — but being part of a praying community will keep their minds and hearts in union with Christ. That will bring them joy, no matter the circumstances.

What about us? Acting a bit gentler John the Baptist, Pope Francis tells us, "The great danger in today's world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience." He addresses this to all of us: the anawim, business owners and soldiers, pastors and plumbers, migrants and refugees, young and old, absolutely everyone alive today.

Francis teaches that if we want to experience the joy of the Gospel and union with God, we need to begin by sharing God's concern for the poorest among us. Francis calls us to mourn at the scandal of the fact that millions starve while Earth provides enough food for everyone. He invites us to dream of a world in which all people enjoy love, nutrition, education, health care and dignified employment.

Today, the Baptist and Pope Francis urge us to seek real joy. John tells us to begin with moral integrity. Then, as we grow in awareness of God in our midst, the scandals of poverty and war will move us to work for remedies, no matter the cost.

That will bring joy to God and neighbor — and even to us!