Third Sunday of Advent: Rejoice?

If you didn't hear it enough in our first two readings, then you should see it in the vestment I'm wearing today, that the theme for this third Sunday of Advent is: "Rejoice!"

This third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday - "gaudete" means "rejoice." We turn our attention to the future, to Christmas, and think about the joy of Christ's coming.

But why should we rejoice? 

The world is still very dark. We saw that yesterday as dozens of innocent people - mostly children - were murdered. And the saddest part of it is that this has happened before - in this country and around the world. That's the mystery of our human freedom - we can choose to give ourselves in love, but we can also choose to hurt each other, even the most vulnerable.

We live in a broken world where violence and hatred have become commonplace - in dramatic horrifying ways like the events yesterday, and in small ways, in our hearts.

Yet we still light the pink candle. I am still wearing a rose vestment. And the Scriptures still tell us: "Rejoice!"

How do we do that?

The prophet Zephaniah, who we hear in the first reading, is speaking to the people of Judah during the reign of one of their last kings. He spent most of his time warning and condemning them and the nations around them - and for good reason: in a few short years Judah will be conquered by the Babylonians, Jerusalem will be destroyed, and many of the people will be taken as captives to Babylon; but at the end of his prophecies, he tells them:

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!Sing joyfully, O Israel!Be glad and exult with all your heart,O daughter Jerusalem!The LORD has removed the judgment against youhe has turned away your enemies;the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,you have no further misfortune to fear.

St. Paul says something very similar in the second reading: 

Brothers and sisters:Rejoice in the Lord always.I shall say it again: rejoice!Your kindness should be known to all.The Lord is near.

And in the Gospel, as the people begin to ask themselves if John the Baptist is the Messiah, the savior they've been waiting for, he points to someone else who is coming:

I am baptizing you with water,but one mightier than I is coming.I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The Lord is in your midst. The Lord is near. One mightier than I is coming.

We should rejoice because Jesus, the Messiah, the savior, is on the way. For us he has already come and we are celebrating that, just as we do every year.

But that is not the only reason why we rejoice.

Our rejoicing comes from the fact that our God came to us. He lived with us and, more importantly, he suffered with us.

In the coming days, people will ask, "Where was God when those children died?" He was there.

He was there in those classrooms because Jesus was on the cross. Our God knows what it is like to suffer and die; and He knows what it's like to watch a loved one suffer. He knows because he came to us and lived it.

We don't rejoice out of some generic "Christmas spirit." We don't rejoice at Christmas just because we're supposed to be happy and kind to each other.

We rejoice because, in the midst of this broken world, God came and lived it with us. He suffered. He knows.

In our suffering, we can rejoice. We can call out to the Lord and know that He understands. He's been there.

While we are preparing for Christmas, let's pray for those families who have been affected by this tragedy; and let's open our hearts to the love of God, so that we can share that love with a world that desperately needs it.