Gaudate!!

The pink candle of Gaudate Sunday is lit.

Gaudate!  Gaudate!  Gaudate!  I’m gonna guess that the Anglo-Catholics and Romans reading this blog are the only ones who know what in the world I just said.  The word Gaudate is, of course, Latin and means…..anyone….rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  So why am I speaking Latin and why am I rejoicing in this Third Week of Advent?

Since the Middle Ages the Third Sunday of Advent has been called Gaudate Sunday, and it takes its name from the first word of the introit, or opening hymn, that was sung on that day.  Most Roman Catholic Churches, and some Episcopal Churches, still sing the Gaudate Introit.  That word, Gaudate—rejoice—is the theme of both that Sunday and this week.  We've been hearing the prophets talk about the wrath that is to come, and we have been talking about Jesus' coming into the world, but now we are getting excited by it!  Now we are getting stirred up!  We even light the pink candle to symbolize this change in tone.  I once heard a priest explain to a 5^th grader that we light the pink candle because we take the purple, subdued tone of Advent and mix it with the white, rejoicing of Christmas; to which the 5^th grader said, “Yeah….purple and white don’t make pink!”Nevertheless, we light our pink candle, and if you’re a church with more money than you know what to do with your priest may have even worn pink vestments on Sunday.  

This church has way too much money!

These are visual signs of our shift to a more joyful tone. Quite frankly, we have needed some rejoicing in recently, as our community continues to grieve over the tragic death of young Laura Lisk.  How fitting, then, that we have lit a candle on Rejoice Sunday that is Laura's favorite color!  That’s God’s grace for you!  Perhaps she's reminding us to always rejoice in the Lord, especially right now.  

On Sunday we heard Isaiah, standing in the chaos and pain of exile, preach about the freedom to come, and we heard the joy in his voice.  We heard James tell his congregation that the Judge is at the door, that Jesus’ return is right around the corner, and we heard the joy in his voice.  And in our Gospel, when we heard Jesus himself send word back to John’s disciples, letting them know that he is, indeed, the Messiah, we heard his joy as he told them to report not what they’d seen and heard—the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see.  All three gentlemen we heard from on Sunday preached with that joyful, good news that the Kingdom of God is breaking into human history, so how could there not be rejoicing?

Yet it is not their voice that I find to be the most joyful, the most resounding, during this Gaudate Week; rather it is the voice of a woman, of blessed Mary.  In lieu of our Psalm on Sunday we read together that portion of the Gospel of Luke that we call the Song of Mary, the Magnificat--again a song that takes its name from the first word in its Latin version.  In this seemingly quiet moment, when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visits her cousin Elizabeth, herself pregnant with John, we get the most beautiful song in all of Scripture—apologies to David and Solomon.  There is so much joy, so much hope, so much praise for the Kingdom of God coming into our world.  So significant is Mary's song that we Anglicans sing at at every single Evensong, no matter where we are worshipping!  It gives voice not only to Mary, but it gives us voice, and it sums up what this time of the year is all about. 

"My soul doth magnify the Lord

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior

For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden

For behold from henceforth

All generations shall call me blessed

For he that is mighty hath magnified me

And holy is his Name

And his mercy is on them that fear him

Throughout all generations

He hath showed strength with his arm

He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts

He hath put down the mighty from their seats

And hath exalted the humble and meek

He hath filled the hungry with good things

And the rich he hath sent empty away

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel

As he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever."

--The Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55; BCP Rite I translation)

Mary’s soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord—or her soul "doth magnify the Lord" according to the beautifully constructed Rite I translation.  Her soul sings for joy of the greatness of God, and what does that greatness look like?  It doesn't look like greatness as the world has defined it, does it?  It doesn't look like top-down power politics, or military force, or a domination system.  It looks like a lowly servant being looked upon with favor.  It looks like mercy for those in every generation who fear and love God.  It looks like the mighty being cast down from their thrones because their time is up, while the lowly are at long last lifted.  It looks like the hungry being filled and the rich being sent away because they've had their turn.  It looks like God remembering the promise of old to Abraham and ultimately fulfilling it.  Make no mistake, brothers and sisters, Mary's song is nothing short of a prophecy!  Remember that the prophets are the ones who stand in the middle of the chaos and offer us hope for the future, and that is certainly what Mary does.  Hers is a prophecy just like Isaiah or Jesus!  And her prophecy reminds us that God's greatness and power are not what the world often wishes them to be.  Furthermore, God's power comes, not with a bang, but gradually and over the course of time.  Like a mother holding her child in her womb for nine long months.  Mary knew that to be true, better than anyone ever has.  

Mary visits Elizabeth.

Some folks wonder why the people in Jesus' day didn't think he was the Messiah.  It had less to do with what certain prophets said about him and more about what folks saw and heard from him.  He was a nobody.  His parents were nobodies. When he finally came on the scene he came with the beggars and offered hope to the outcasts of society.  In short, he was picking up right where his mama had left off!  Many--including John the Baptist--believed Jesus would usher in a new age with a political revolution or military force; in fact, many scholars believe that John sent his messengers to ask Jesus if he was REALLY the Messiah because John himself didn't think Jesus' methods reflected what the Messiah was supposed to do.  Yet Jesus offers something the world cannot offer.  He offers real mercy and healing, that of the soul.  Jesus gives us something different, he shows the world that God is not to be found in the might and force of mankind, but in the patient love that God pours out over God’ people gradually over time. Jesus reflects exactly what his mother sang about.   

This is why we have Advent, to remind us of that gradual build toward the kingdom. It doesn't come in a flash, but it comes with little moments of love that are built one on top of the other.  The kingdom rises like yeast, as my favorite theologian once wrote.  It builds and builds and builds until it finally breaks through, like a child coming into the world.  And it was Mary who laid that foundation with the her "Yes!" that she gave to God as a willing participant in the act of Salvation.  Hers is the most important yes in all of human history.  It changed the world, and so can the yes that you give to God!

I saw over 1000 people say yes to God this past weekend at an event called Operation Red Sleigh, which provides a meal and Christmas presents for nearly 500 families in Randolph County, North Carolina.  There were high school groups there, church youth groups, the Gideons passing out bibles, and so many volunteers who cooked meals, cleaned up, or just talked to folks and got to know them.  They all said yes to what God had placed on their hearts, and in doing so they built upon the foundation that Mary laid so long ago.  Little by little.  Moment by moment.  This is how the kingdom comes on earth!  

Nearly 500 kids got Christmas presents thanks to Operation Red Sleigh.  And I met Santa!

Mary's song is our song!  It is not just her soul that proclaims the greatness of the Lord, no!  Our souls do, as well! And like Mary, if we say yes to God and keep adding on to those layers, then the kingdom will rise and will be born among us.  You may think that whatever God has put on your heart is insignificant, but trust me it is anything but!  This little Palestinian girl seemed insignificant, but her faith changed the world.  That may be the greatest Christmas miracle of all!  So say, "Yes!" brothers and sisters!  Build upon that legacy of love that Mary first established for us. Keep adding on to those moments, and you will transform the world!  For it is those seemingly small moments of love that cast down the mighty and lift up the lowly.  They give hope and light to a frightened and dark world.  They give us reason to rejoice.  Always.  If we keep sharing those moments of love, and if we are patient, as Mary was, then we too will give birth to hope and love this year.  Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Gaudate!