Gaudete! Rejoice!
This Lords Day (3rd Sunday in Advent) as you probably know is Gaudete Sunday. Or “why is Pastor wearing pink?” Sunday. This is the day in the church year (well, one of 2) marked out in a time of waiting and expectation and hope, and – penitence, when we take a break right on the cusp of it all to bask in the already-not-yet of God’s goodness and gifts.
Since Gaudete is in Advent (with Laetere in Lent), and Advent being a season mostly fashioned around the concept of HOPE I want to take a little time to share with you some message of this matter of a hope fulfilled.
Our readings for this week absolutely ABOUND with messages and exclamations of joy, Thanksgiving, and celebration.
In Isaiah; Isaiah 61:10 (NRSVCE): will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God
From the Holy Psalter; Psalm 126:2b, 3-5 (NRSVCE): our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy. The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced. May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
From Mary; Luke 1:47 (NRSVCE): my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
And lastly
From Paul; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NRSVCE): Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances
All of this, If you read the context of these parishes, you will see is caused and sourced from Gods making good on His promises. That He HAS robed His people in salvation, He HAS liberated the oppressed, freed the captive, forgiven the sinner, He HAS lifted up the lowly and filled the hungry and done all things He promised He would. That He “HAS” is the emphatic point of the majority of today’s readings. God HAS done the thing – let us rejoice in the thing!
And that’s all great, and that’s all good. But one thing rings amiss here. And that’s our actual gospel reading, John 1:6-8, 19-28.
There was a man sent from God to testify to the world about the light. He was not the light. But he came to testify about the light. The light was the Messiah, the Christ, who John did not yet know (but was about to find out) was Jesus, his cousin. And so he went out preaching the repentance and preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Preaching an APOCALYPTIC MESSAGE. And a baptism – of water, of repentance, and of ammendment of life in order to gain the forgiveness of sins through conversion. But none of that is reallt the focus of the reading for this Sunday. This sunday leans HEAVILY, OH, and I do mean HEAVILY into this matter of him not being the messiah but testifying to him. In fact, the entire second grouping of that text (19-28) is by and large entirely about people asking him if he’s the light, him denying it, and then him testifying to the light. Are you the Messiah, they asked? Are you Elijah, they asked? Are you the light? Why are you baptizing? Why all this?
And in the context of Gaudete Sunday a lot of this seems, well… out of pocket. One might ask the lectionary entry, “are you the Gaudete?” And John will again say “no.” And that’s the point. John is not the source of joy. He is not our cause for joy. And he does not actually present to us the joy, at least not at this time in year B of the 3 year lectionary cycle. But what he does do, is give us a taste of his coming.
No I am not tbe light, he says. No I am not the joy, he says. No I am not the christ and I am not Elijah and I am not your salvation. BUT. I proclaim to you a new message, not merely that He is coming, but that He is COMING. As in like, right now
And in a sense that is all of John’s message for this year’s Gaudete Sunday. All of what you see here, even in the most anticipatory portions of Advent, and even in the most joyous parts of Advent ARE NOT CHRISTMAS. They are not yet FESTAL. But Christmas is coming. Oh boy is it coming it’s right there, it’s on the cusp, but we’re not there yet!
In a way, this is illustrative of the spirit of Advent. It remains for us a time of expectant hope, and it always will. For though we are promised that God is coming tomorrow (and rejoice) – we remain waiting for tomorrow to become today.
It’s a little anti-climactic, I know. But there is for us here a devotional praxis here if we’re willing to receive it, perhaps two, if we have ears to hear it.
The first is that of law. In what ways, I can now ask you, are you actively remembering that these things we do, these celebrations we hold, and these sermons we preach are not themselves the fullness of Christ. How are we expecting Him still? ARE WE expecting Him still? And if not, how can we more deeply dig into this notion of waiting and hoping and looking for the one who is to come ? Perhaps a good practice for you and for all would be to try to make this notion of hopeful expectation out of Advent and into the whole church year, like our early chruch fathers did. Let us try more and more to be a people who pray MARANATHA, come Lord Jesus. Perhaps we need to read the news, or visit the sick more. Then we will know how wrong things remain on this side od eternity. And then, surely, the we will grasp more deeply and strongly and surely God’s promise of tbe tomorrow yet to come.
For the antinomians in the room (I’m just kidding), a Word of Gospel; even in the greatest things we share together in the “now” of the Christian faith, the Word and Sacrament (which really truly deliver Christ), the fellowship of the saints, the bliss of God’s loving presence, and the promises of eternal life are not yet the fullness of what is to come for us. There is yet something greater. There is yet more to come. There is yet the fullness of God’s kingdom.
For that HOPE beyond HOPE, And that promise beyond the promises already fulfilled – we rejoice! For even when we have all things fully, there will still be MORE yet to come. For God’s grace, God’s love, God’s glory and His beauty are utterly inexhaustible, up until an infinite eternity. In that sense. The Christian life is ALWAYS one of expectant hope, in the promised gifts, goodness, and abundant grace of the Lord who is ALWAYS promising more tomorrow.
For an eternity of hopeful expectation in the endless promises and gifts of God – we rejoice.
Gaudete!
