Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6 (1st Song of Isaiah); Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

Today is Gaudete (gou-day-tay) Sunday.  The name is the Latin word for the first word of our Epistle lesson for today from Paul’s letter to the people of Philippi.  “Rejoice.”  “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice.”

Gaudete Sunday, traditionally the 3^rdSunday of Advent in the Western Church, is the day we take a break from the penitential focus of this preparatory season and bask for a while in the celebratory rose.  Our lectionary gurus of long ago assigned us these celebratory lessons from Zephaniah and Isaiah and Philippians.  So, we are called today to rejoice in this proclaimed foretaste of Christmas joy. In recognition of that joy, we will light the rose candle of our Advent wreath.

What is it to rejoice in the Lord always?  What is joy? And, how do we find joy amidst such hardships and unthinkably horrible tragedies as those that confront us with every hour of “breaking news.”

What is joy?  Joy is the inbreaking of God into the mundane routine, the happiest celebrations, and the grievous tragedies of our daily lives – the smell of salt air or ginger cookies, a song that reminds us of happy times.  Marriage counselors know well that one of the first steps toward healing a troubled couple is to help them recapture the joy of their courtship.  What was it that brought them together?  Sometimes, hopefully often, as God’s children, a sense of joy just seems to overtake us at a dark hour with an indisputable confidence that God is present with us and that all will be well in His Kingdom.

Explaining joy is beyond our human limitation of language and understanding.  But, we can cite some characteristics.  Joy brings us patience in our trials and tribulations, as we remain confident that God’s threshing process, of which John the Baptist speaks in our Gospel lesson, will separate the good grain from the chaff – all on His time and terms – not ours.  We long patiently for an ever-deepening relationship with God, our neighbors in need, and our most beloved.

Our joy brings a non-anxious presence that allows us to move calmly through the trials of each day – even the tragedies of the day.  How often do we remind ourselves in the face of grave difficulties that we just need to get through today – one day at a time.  Contemplating the fears that lie beyond will paralyze us.  We seek that non-anxious presence that allows us to devote our energies toward embracing the blessings, moment by moment.

And, thus, we come to God in prayerful humility, accepting that God is all-powerful – omnipotent, and that we are dependent upon His direction in all things just as we are dependent upon our winter coats to keep us warm.  We come to God with a greater sense of thanksgiving, coming worthily though aware of our unworthiness.   Joy comes when we can, with gratitude, successfully lay our cares and anxieties in God’s hands – when we can say along with Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

And, with joy’s non-anxious presence comes peace.  Peace – that peace beyond our human understanding that keeps our hearts and mind in the knowledge and love of God and his son Jesus Christ – positive peace, not simply the absence of violence or conflict.   Peace is beyond our human understanding and articulation.  When we have come through the process of a difficult decision or we have accepted grievous circumstances that we cannot change, we say we are at peace.  What a blessing it is to us when a loved one facing a life-threatening diagnosis can say to us, “I am at peace.”  This peace of God that passes our human understanding is placed mercifully within our reach as we seek a right relationship with God.

Joy brings patience, release from our anxieties, and peace.

John’s message to the Jews who gathered at the River Jordan was that their title as children of Abraham – the chosen people of God, had no merit if their lives did not bear good fruit. John’s message for us would be that our title as Christian has no value if it bears no fruit.  The title as Christian in and of itself does not entitle us to joy.   Our joy comes from the experience of God’s bountiful grace; our joy comes in the bearing of the good fruit; our joy comes in the accepting of the responsibility of our title as God’s children commissioned to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.

C.S. Lewis would say that joy is the serious business of heaven.

None of us has the satisfactory answers to the many questions that haunt those around us suffering deep grief in the season of joy.  The bittersweet message for Gaudete Sunday is that tragedy reminds us that we have reason to rejoice – not that I would dare say those words to someone in raw deep grief. We do rejoice, though, that there is no evil that can snuff out the goodness of God.  In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “All the darkness of the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

But, each of us can be that single candle that the darkness cannot extinguish – that single candle that is the inbreaking of God, bringing joy into the dark lives of those who are suffering.

In the name of Christ, be that single candle.  (Light candle)