Gaudete

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Gaudete

Rejoice   Rose Colored

Await   Prepare   Make Ready

Joy Of My Soul

Emmanuel

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Isaiah 61: 10

I rejoice completely in the Lord, my God who is the joy of my soul.

The Gospel of John 1: 23

The priests and the Levites came from Jerusalem to question John the Baptist. They wanted to know who he was. He told them:

"I am the voice of the one who is proclaiming in the desert: make ready the path for Emmanuel."

Reflection

Isaiah tells us that it is time for us to rejoice. We refer to the Third Sunday of Advent as Rejoice (or in Latin Gaudete) Sunday. We are rejoicing as Advent is drawing to a close and our celebration of the Coming of Christ is drawing near. Even the color of the vestments that the presider wears changes from purple to a pink rose color.

Our problem is that it is hard to rejoice when we are told to do so. We think of joy as something that happens spontaneously when we get good news. One of our cousins just won a large amount on some lottery tickets. It was hoped for but unexpected and she was definitely rejoicing!

What allows us to have that kind of joy? Isaiah answers it by telling us that our joy is in God. We all have a deep hunger for God. When we have truly found God, when we have experienced an intimacy with God, when we feel at one with God, our soul is full. 

When we feel that closeness, we rejoice always because we realize that God will always be with us---even after that money from our lottery winnings is all spent! We know that we can always turn to God and God will be there for us. It is a joy that grows deeper the more we turn to God, the more we listen to God and for God. 

Our eyes become open to the many ways God wants to come to be with us and inspire us. I was outside recently doing some yard work and I felt the peace and love of God all around me. The joy was overflowing! It was a Gaudete moment!

In the reading from John we encounter John the Baptist. He is being questioned by the "authorities" from Jerusalem. They are trying to figure out exactly who he is and what his mission is. It must have been a little unsettling for them to see many from their flock coming out to hear the message John was preaching and even more upsetting when they started to follow him and to be baptized by him.

His message is simple: he is going to prepare a way so that the people can come to Emmanuel---God with us. 

His message is just like our message. We want to lead people to Emmanuel. We have encountered Jesus. We have been touched by Jesus. We feel the JOY of Jesus. We are Gaudete People.

We all know that when we experience joy, we want to share it with everyone. Our cousin was bursting at the seams to tell us her good news about the lottery.

How much more are we called to be bursting at the seams to tell all about our God who Loves them with a Love beyond all description---a Love that will never end.

Rejoice in that Love!

Always!

1. How do you feel when someone tells you to rejoice?

2. How have you found intimacy with God?

3. Have you ever experienced a Gaudete moment?

4. Do you feel that you are like John the Baptist?

5. Have you ever felt that you were bursting at the seams to tells others about the Love of God?

6. What do you see as you reflect on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)