From the Latin verb gaudeo, gaudere, meaning "to rejoice, to make merry, to be pleased with," Gaudete Sunday reminds us that the joy of Christmas is near at hand. It is time to “sing joyfully” and “be glad and exult with all [our] heart[s]!” Both of today’s Old Testament readings emphasize the nearness of the Savior. In Zephaniah 3, God assures His people that “the king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.” In Isaiah 12, the prophet commands his listeners to “shout with exultation…for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!”
In today’s gospel, the Messiah has yet to reveal himself to the crowds thronging around John the Baptist, but there is a rising sense of expectation that the arrival of the Christ is imminent. “…one mightier than I is coming,” John says when the crowds begin to speculate if he himself could be the Messiah. The people, including societal outcasts like tax collectors and soldiers, then begin to ask how they should prepare themselves for the arrival of this mighty one—what will be required of them?
John’s responses are simple and direct: share with the needy, be honest in your business dealings, and do not wield your authority unjustly against others. Such responses may not have been what people wanted to hear. After all, it is never easy to pursue virtue over vice, especially in a world that treats greed, selfishness, and cruelty as a matter of course. And yet those who did as John commanded would already have begun to find “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding,” guarding their hearts and minds for the coming of the Lord.
“The Lord is near,” St. Paul writes to the Philippians. It is the truth of this statement that that allows Paul to instruct us “to have no anxiety at all, but…make your request known to God.” The result of such requests is not always what we want to hear. But we shall receive peace and the power to pursue virtue…and from these gifts comes Joy.
Parishioner Kathryn Wilmotte