Gaudete

Advent lasts through four Sundays leading up to Christmas, and it’s supposed to be a time of anticipation - not only for the birth of Christ, but also for a day when God will ultimately bring justice and peace in the world.  Churches often have Advent wreaths, with one candle for each of the four Sundays of Advent. The candles usually have three purple candles, and one pink one for today – the third Sunday of Advent – which is known as Gaudete Sunday. 

Gaudete means “rejoice” – and drawing on the story of John the Baptist it calls us to look ahead to a hopeful future when God will break into the world with joy and peace. Gaudete in domine semper – Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.

If Advent is supposed to be about fasting, though, what is the rejoicing about? Three things here. The first is that while spiritual preparation may be hard work, it isn’t supposed to be a punishment: it’s a way of getting ready for the feast that is to come – perhaps a bit like a spiritual version of going to spend a few days at a spa before a big event. It takes self-discipline, but we need time to get the mind, body and soul into shape if we are going to be ready for the feast.

Secondly, about halfway through both the long Christian fasts – Lent as well as Advent - there is a mini-feast,  a break that reminds us that God is not a hard taskmaster, and doesn’t want us to suffer beyond what we can bear. Gaudete Sunday reminds us that just as waiting for Christmas is more than half over, so the promises of a better future are coming into view on the horizon. Gaudete Sunday, then, is a moment to rejoice and be thankful. 

But thirdly, it's important to know that the rejoicing implied in "Gaudete" isn't just a lighthearted, party-mode kind of emotion. It's worth remembering that when St Paul said those words - "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice" - he himself was imprisoned, in brutal circumstances, and was writing to a community that was suffering persecution. Paul's encouragement to rejoice was nothing to do with the kind of glib celebratory mood that strikes when everything is fine, and we have nothing to worry about. He was calling people to dig deep for the kind of joy that sustains in dark times, that keeps you going when hope is dim.

Where I live in Connecticut, there isn't much joy in the air this weekend. The terrible Newtown elementary school shooting two days ago is just up the road from where I live. Many homes and families in that neighbourhood are facing a Christmas that will be nothing like what they had been planning, and instead they are suffering grief and shock at the loss of family members, friends, neighbours. In the face of that kind of tragedy, it's impossible to imagine being happy and lighthearted. But the sense of the joy Paul speaks of is the deep seated hope that despite everything, somehow life will go on. Let's pray for those families this weekend that some glimmers of hope will sustain them in this terrible tragedy.

Some of these thoughts were recorded for BBC Radio 2 - Good Morning Sunday with Aled Jones - scroll through to 1:15 to hear the reflection, and the lovely Gaudete song that follows.