Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Phil 4:4-7
Lk 3:10-18
Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice!
This is the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudate Sunday – where Gaudate means “rejoice”. Yet, it seems that we have hardly any cause for rejoicing. These words from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians can hardly be fitting for our mood today. Only two days from one of the most tragic shooting sprees our nation has ever faced: 26 dead, twenty children ages 5-10. Some have been glued to the media trying to find the latest information and others are afraid to turn on the television because they cannot handle this emotional burden. Sadly this event amongst the unrest in the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world, the economic situation in our country, and the curtailing of religious freedom is just one more straw on the camel’s back. Our nation is suffering and in a state of shock and mourning, how can we rejoice?
Our first reading from the prophet Zephaniah is just as out of touch with our emotional state: Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart… How can we shout for joy and sing joyfully when we are in the state that we are in. I cannot tell you how many times people have come up to me to tell me how worried they are with the state of society, our nation, and the world. They ask me as if I had all the answers – and sometimes I do. =) As much time for prayer and contemplation as I have had, God has yet to let me see His “playbook” on what He is up to.
As for myself, what am I to do? How am I to answer these tough questions about this particular horrible tragedy of senseless evil? I ask God where and how am I to tell His beloved children that everything is going to be okay when it is obviously not. Twelve, almost thirteen years from a century that has seen the most horrible atrocities that one man could commit against another – and now we do not see the evil thousands of miles away but in our places of work, places of entertainment, and places of education.
The Catholic priests of the parish closest to the school in Connecticut were some of the first responders to this tragedy – some of the victims were his parishioners – some were preparing for first communion, some had just performed their Christmas play. The old monsignor and his associate pastor had to answer the tough questions that none of us would want to answer. As I sit comfortably in my room, I thought to myself that I would never want to be in that priest’s position ministering and meeting with the victims’ families. How would I handle it? What would I even do in that situation? Senseless violence, incredible loss, and absolutely no means to return to innocence. It is enough to make a new priest scared run for his life, pack up, and go back home – even if it is only a few miles down Central Expressway. I didn’t sign up for this!
As we hear the Gospel proclaimed, I hear something quite profound when the crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” “Teacher, what should we do?” He gives a very simple answer. He simply tells them to give to those who have none, to be fair and just, and to do their jobs as their occupation required. When I ask myself what I should do in that situation, I realized that what those heroic priests did and are doing now is exactly what they were supposed to do. If your parish priest is truly your shepherd, would your shepherd hide out in his room or would he be right there to tend his flock? If, God forbid, something like that were to happen to Seton’s Ark or the Faith Formation Center or any of the public schools around us – I would not have a second thought to be right there because you are mine and have been entrusted to me. I would be doing what I am supposed to do and what I want to do, because that is what shepherds do. And I know that any of you as parents would do the same for your children, your children’s children and your neighbor’s children as well. Why? Because the love of Christ compels us to fulfill our Christian vocation – our calling to love of neighbor and God.
In the midst of evil and adversity, we have no other recourse than to turn to Jesus Christ. No words of comfort, no human action can undo the horror that has been done. Evil in all its forms has been infiltrating creation; from the nations, the society, down to the family and the individual person. In the very literal dark days ahead – before the winter solstice – and in the very abyss of the darkness of the human condition to the very depths of despair comes the Light of Christ into the world on Christmas Day. What I have gained from praying for and meditating on this particular tragedy is that in the midst of all this mess that we are in, there is reason to rejoice. In fact, what St. Paul is saying in the first reading today is not a polite recommendation or a suggestion, but rather an imperative – a command! REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS. I SAY IT AGAIN: REJOICE! Gaudate Sunday is not out of place and not inappropriate to our sentiments. I would be so bold as to say that it is exactly in the right place, the right time – precisely because of these events, we NEED Gaudate Sunday. These tragic events are precisely the very REASON for Gaudate Sunday.
The command for us to rejoice is not for us to rejoice in the loss, but rather for us to realize that all is not lost. There is hope to bring us beyond suffering. Now the people were filled with expectation and all were asking in their hearts… Let us be filled with expectation and desiring in our hearts as the people were with John the Baptist! That expectation is the coming of Christ into the world to bring salvation to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. PRAY!! Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the reality of suffering and tragedy can shake us to our very core – we wrestle with trying to find meaning in the midst of evil. However, the command to rejoice is not to be taken lightly as some “pious-churchy” excuse to sugarcoat and deny what has happened, but rather to rejoice is our response to what has happened because God is the one who will come to bring us out of these dark times.
Let us remind ourselves that the Eucharist – the Thanksgiving that we celebrate does not stop because there is evil in the world, but rather we continue to celebrate the salvific work of Christ in spite of and in response to those evils. The Eucharistic Feast that we celebrate here is the sign for us – that God has already won the victory over death and Satan; and we, as the people of God, the people of faith do not live as a people without hope. We prepare ourselves in anxious anticipation of the hope that is to come on Christmas Day where we will remember and welcome our Lord into this world: Christ our Light is coming, the Lord is near. Let not anxiety fill your hearts with dread, but let them be filled with joyful expectation for our Lord. My dear brothers and sisters, let us Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice!
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