3 Advent Year A December 15, 2019
Isaiah 35:1-10; Canticle 15; James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11
Today, on the third Sunday of Advent … we lit the pink colored candle for joy. This Sunday is sometimes referred to as Gaudete (pronounced GOW-day-tay) Sunday…or Rose Sunday…
The term, Gaudete is derived from the Latin opening words of an introit antiphon, "Rejoice (Gaudete) in the Lord always." The theme of the day expresses the joy of anticipation at the approach of the Christmas celebration. This theme reflects a lightening of the tone of the traditional Advent observance…marked as a season of preparing for the coming of Jesus into our lives again, by waiting, slowing down, letting go of things, and repentance… (Episcopal Dictionary of the Church)
And if you were here last week…you are probably ready for a little “lightening and reprieve” and a bit of joy….John the Baptist had some pretty bold words of awakening for us last week, when he proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”…We also heard in the gospel reading that he lashed out at the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, saying to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
And then, in my sermon, I invited you to participate in a little repentance exercise, as a way of practicing peace with yourself, by making a list of your sins, and those things that have been a heavy burden on your heart, those things that have gotten in the way of you being at peace with yourself, with God, and with others…A pretty heavy…but spirit-freeing exercise…
Yet, even in the midst of John’s seemingly harsh words last week, and in the focus on repentance…there was Good News in what John the Baptist proclaimed to us: Repentance…is a way of practicing peace with ourselves…a way for us to begin again, by preparing our hearts and our lives to receive the love and peace of the Lord…the peace that only Jesus can fill us with….and to make us ready, by opening our hearts to greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer....
And, so, on this third Sunday of Advent, as we continue to practice opening up our hearts to greet with Joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, let’s talk about joy today…and lighten up our hearts a little bit today…to get a glimpse of that joy, that is always on its way to greet us…with bountiful grace, mercy, hope, peace and love…
Let’s listen to the prayer again, that we heard earlier, when the candle of joy was lit…
Let us pray: Too often, we think joy is something big, O God. A brass band or a parade can certainly bring us joy. Just as easily and far more often, we can feel joy in a hug or the squeeze of a hand, we can see joy in a smile or hear it in laughter. Help us to not overlook the simple joys that peak into our lives daily. This week in our Advent journey, open our eyes to the joy that surrounds us. Amen. (Submitted by Rev. Susannah DeBenedetto)
When we pause to think about the joys in our lives…what often comes to mind first, are the big things…like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations…and this time of year, it’s things like the Holiday Brass Concert that is a tradition here in Sitka…. the Nutcracker, another tradition here and in many places…
The school Christmas concerts…the church Christmas pageants…the work Christmas parties….the family holiday celebrations…the list could go on…
There is never a shortage of celebrations and events going on…especially this time of year… and for us at St Peter’s, we started off the advent season with a couple of grand celebrations…with the Bishop joining us for a full Sunday morning service, and our afternoon special celebration, to mark the 120th Anniversary of worshiping together in this church building that Bishop Rowe, and all the saints before us dreamed about and built….a place for the whole community to gather…to give thanks to God, and to celebrate the joys of being together in community…
Yes…joy comes in a big way, at times…big, glorious celebrations, for all to see…spectacular celebrations of joy that are hard to miss...Yes…joy comes in big ways, at times…like when God sends prophets, into our lives such as John the Baptist, a larger than life prophet… who Jesus described, as more than a prophet …and speaking to the crowds gathered, he expands on his description about John, “Truly, I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
There is another way that joy enters into our lives…and that is through the simple, every day joys…as the prayer mentions...it could be a hug, a squeeze of a hand...or in a smile, or in the sound of laughter…it could be in that moment of watching a young toddler take his first steps, or say her first words…it could be in the midst of a 1:1 conversation with someone close to you, a glance out the window at the sunset or the full moon…it could be in the news of a cancer-free report from the oncologist…
…it could be in that moment of encounter with another person, where your hearts meet in a moment of deep understanding and inexplicable joy…a joy which causes your heart to sing out with praise…or it could be in that moment of encounter with another person, that the grace and mercy of God is felt so completely and with a joy that is felt so deeply…that no words are adequate or needed….but only tears…tears of sorrow, being transformed into joy…
When I think of some of these moments of simple joy…my heart turns to Mary, and her song this morning…we know it as The Magnificat, or Canticle 15 or simply as… The Song of Mary…I think of her encounter with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist…which prompted her to sing her song of joy…
In the scripture verses preceding Mary’s song of praise to God, from Luke 1:46-55, we are told that Mary, a young girl, had been visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, and she will name him Jesus. She was told that He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. She was told that He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. She also heard about Elizabeth, who was of old age and said to be barren, that she too would also bear a son. After the angel departed…Mary went to visit Elizabeth.
Listen to this story of this special moment of joy shared between Mary and Elizabeth: (Luke 1: 39-45)
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
The child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy upon the hearing of Mary’s greeting…this was a simple glimpse of joy found in the meeting of hearts…and in the shared encounter with God and each other… a brief moment of trusting in something, someone, much greater than they could truly understand at the time…trusting and believing in God’s love, God’s promises and hope being fulfilled, in the moment…in each of them…and in the days yet to come…while they both waited and wondered and readied themselves to greet with joy…the arrival of their baby boys… both beloved of God, both being sent into this world with a specific purpose…
They both felt something…in a simple, profound and quiet way… they felt something in the innermost parts of their souls……They both were witness to the kind of joy that can only be fulfilled in knowing and believing in God’s love for them, and by placing all their hope and trust in him…and they both respond to this good news with words of hope and affirmation, and Mary with her song proclaiming the greatness of the Lord…and all that he has done…
I was reminded this week of another simple, and profound moment of joy, that became of moment of big joy…a moment of being awake to recognizing the invitations to joy and the signs of joy all around us…
There’s a holiday ad being played across the internet/tv screens this season…It features a short story about a young boy, who is deaf. His dad loves Christmas music…and wants so much to share the joy of this music with his son, in the same way they learn to communicate and share so many other aspects of their lives together…With the invention of new technology, the young boy is gifted with a SoundShirt…the first person ever to try out this new technology…it’s a shirt, that has some receptors of sorts, that allows for him to “feel” the same music that his parents are listening to on the car radio or through other music players …it’s a way for him to share the joy of this season with those he loves and those who love him…It’s a way for him to “hear” about joy and love…by feeling the joy and love…in a quiet and profound way…I hope you have the chance to watch the ad…and to see the way he responds with such joy in being welcomed into this special time of rejoicing, that he can now share with his parents…
The 2019 Lincoln Wish List Feel the Joy Ad:
https://youtu.be/u5f7bkmtEbw
Whether our joy begins in a big way, with a spectacular celebration…or whether it takes place in a simple way, in our encounters with one another … lasting joy and true joy can only be found and felt by the love of God for us, and in the ways we share that love with one another…
As you leave here today…I invite you to be on the lookout for the signs of joy that surround each of us…even in the midst of the sorrows….and more importantly…be on the lookout for all the signs of joy and the love of God, that are within us, and become known to us, when we spend time strengthening our relationships with one another by loving God, one another, and all of creation…
On this third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Rose Sunday…I pray that our song this advent will be one of hope…peace…and love …and joy…
Wonder Love and Praise - #722 The desert shall rejoice
1 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with praise and singing.
2 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
for the ears of the deaf shall hear and the blind, their eyes be opened.
3 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
for the tongue of the mute shall sing and the lame will dance with gladness
4 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
for the ground will become a pool and the dry land springs of water
5 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
as the ransomed return to God and come singing back to Zion.
6 The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose:
unto Zion we come with joy, for our God has come to save us.
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK