DECEMBER 13TH - THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT "GAUDETE"

 

                                                                                “The Nativity” 2014 by Christopher Ruane

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you…” (Psalm 63:1)

 “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.” (Psalm 98:1-2)

“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty…. See, the day of the Lord is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.” (Isaiah 13:6, 9)

“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm… But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly…” (Hebrews 12:18, 22)

 

In a sermon from 1999, Fleming Rutledge talks about two faces of Advent describing it as a time of “rapturous expectation” and “the heralding of apocalyptic woes”.  Today’s readings seem to be a good fit for this idea and the image I have chosen is another study in contrasts, depicting the peaceful beauty of the Christ child, alive in the midst of the surrounding darkness and struggle.

 

When I first looked at today’s readings, beginning with the glorious psalms, I experienced a visceral shift as I read the words in Isaiah.  It was as though the wind had been knocked out of me.  Encountering a Lord who has done such “marvelous things” and “revealed righteousness” with the same Lord who will come with “wrath and anger” jarred me, especially as I read the two passages in such close succession.   Then I turned to Hebrews and began to relax a little.  Here was beauty, hope, and joy – a glimpse of God’s promise for us.

 

On this third Sunday in Advent, we are in the heart of this season of waiting and preparation.  We are focused on the coming of the Lord as our saviour and our judge.  It is a time of darkness with a pervasive theme of judgement.  The mood can be heavy.  Several reflections in this wonderful advent calendar have already referenced our current times, and our feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, and isolation.  But today the mood lifts a little.

 

Traditionally this Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for “joy”, and it is a day for rejoicing.  It is the day we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath, the candle of joy.  Perhaps you don’t feel like rejoicing these days.  Maybe your own mood is more like the rest of Advent, darker, more anxious, somewhat unsettled for any number of reasons, not least of which might be the state of the world.  The theologian Henri Nouwen described the difference between joy and happiness.  Happiness is being dependent on external circumstances while joy is "the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death - can take that love away." Our current circumstances might cause us to fret or feel down but as children of God, we live in the embrace of his unconditional love for us and assurance of his coming.   Joy can be present even in these challenging times.  God will meet us despite our struggles wherever we are.  Rejoice! 

 

Gaudete!  Gaudete!  Christus est natus es Maria virgine. Gaudete!

Tempus adest gratiae, hoc quod optabamus;

carmina laetitiae devote redamus.

 

Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born of the virgin Mary.  Rejoice!

It is now the time of grace that we have desired;

Let us sing songs of joy, let us give devotion.