By Deacon Richard Hay
“Rejoice – Rejoice!”
I am sure all of us here can remember a time where we experienced the excitement that happens in anticipation of some life event? Maybe it was a family vacation trip to Disney, the start of a new school year, a birthday – well for at least the younger members of our congregation, purchasing a new home, waiting for a wedding date to arrive, or awaiting the birth of a new member of the family. Many times, the excitement will be right there with us as the event happens and afterwards.
At this time of the year, a lot of excitement exists around the arrival of Christmas and our Christmas traditions. Of course, here in the Church, we try to strike a balance of not getting into Christmas too early when it comes to all the outward signs of Christmas because it is important to be very deliberate and patient in these weeks of Advent as we prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas and the arrival of Jesus as a baby in a manger.
It can be a very tough balancing act though, because even before Thanksgiving, many retailers were already making the shift to Christmas and of course we are also surrounded by all the decorations, shopping, and other events that lead up to Christmas. The reality is that we must strike that balance between these final weeks of preparation in Advent so that we are ready in our hearts and souls for the Christmas season so that we can celebrate Christ’s presence in our lives and the gifts of grace we receive through his birth, life, passion, and resurrection.
That is why the season of Advent exists – to help us with this journey of preparation despite all the distractions.
The four-week period of Advent this year is also one of the shortest possible based on the calendar because the Fourth Sunday of Advent is on the 24th of December and then that evening, we begin the Christmas Season with the Christmas Eve vigil masses. Normally, we have another week in between these two days on the liturgical calendar.
So our period of preparation in the Church is shorter but the Church still wants us to take a day out of the work of preparing ourselves through the Advent liturgies to remember that we can be joyful and rejoice as the birth of Jesus Christ approaches.
Remember when Fr. Marek gave his homily for the first Sunday of Advent, he reminded us that each week of Advent has a theme. Today’s theme is rejoice on what the church calls Gaudete Sunday – Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice”.
This is why we shift out of the purple vestments, and while we normally associate purple with penance and sacrifice, during Advent the color more appropriately refers to waiting and preparing – the waiting and preparing we are doing for Christmas.
Instead, on Gaudete Sunday we wear rose colored vestments. As a liturgical color, rose represents joy. We are encouraged to rejoice at this point in Advent, because just like the excitement we have felt as certain life events were approaching, we rejoice as we are joyfully anticipating Christ’s first coming – His birth in a manger at Christmas.
We have good reason to rejoice about His arrival at Christmas because we know that eventually he will bring us the gifts of His Fathers love and grace through the sacraments and ultimately sacrifice His own human life to save each one of us through the cross. We also look forward to his second coming at the end of time when he will call the righteous into heaven.
Everything about this Third Sunday in Advent reminds us that is OK to be joyful and rejoice in our Advent journey. The rose-colored vestments I have already mentioned, plus you see that the rose-colored candle is now lit on the Advent wreath. Our readings this weekend are also full of reasons to rejoice.
In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear of them rejoicing in God because the people of Judah have received salvation and justice from God just like we have all received it in our lives. Isaiah is a book which focuses a lot on the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah because of the peoples transgressions against God. So, it is a beautiful passage because amongst all that destruction and turmoil, they still realize and understand the gifts they have received from God. They rejoice and proclaim their joy despite the turmoil in their lives.
Do we give time and space for our own rejoicing and expressing joy for the gifts and grace that God places in our lives through the sacraments and life of the church or do we get too busy and forget to offer those joyful prayers of thanksgiving? Do we try and rejoice even when there are challenges in life?
The responsorial psalm – “My soul rejoices in my God.” comes from the first chapter of Luke – what we know as the Magnificat. It is a beautiful and joyful exchange between Mary and Elizabeth when they greet each other when Mary visits.
Do we rejoice in our souls for God? Do we show joy in our actions of being welcoming and kind to others as we interact in our daily lives?
Then in our second reading from St. Paul to the Thessalonians, he gives us a beautiful list of things we should be doing to rejoice and share our joy in God.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances; do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances; test everything; retain what is good; and refrain from every kind of evil. All very good and powerful ways to rejoice.
Finally, in the gospel, we hear about John the Baptist and his mission to be the herald of Christ, to prepare the path of the Lord. He was very successful at it and drew many to the Jordan River to be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins. There was a lot of rejoicing on the banks of the Jordan, but John confirms to the priests and Levites that he is not the Christ but is the “voice of one crying out in the desert preparing the way for Him.
This humbleness on the part of John the Baptist, is something we can emulate ourselves amid our rejoicing and joyfulness about the coming of the Lord.
John the Baptist shows us that it is possible to be humble while also sharing our joy and rejoicing in the Lord.
I would like to close by drawing attention to this beautiful icon of St. Joseph here in the sanctuary. St Joseph as we know played a very important role in the life of Jesus. He was a humble man but one who heard the call of the Lord and rejoiced in fulfilling His role in salvation history. This icon comes to us through the Knights of Columbus and travels from council to council to encourage devotion to St. Joseph and praying for his continued intercession for us to the Lord.
I encourage everyone to take the time to pray for St. Joseph’s intercession as we continue preparing for Christmas in this season of Advent.
