Christ the Cornerstone

Gaudete Sunday invites us to rejoice in the Lord’s nearness

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near” (Phil 4:4-5).

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday from the Latin word which means “rejoice.”

The longing we experience during this special season of the Church’s year can no longer be contained. It erupts into shouts of joy, confident that the blessed hope is nearer to us than we thought possible. In fact, he is here with us now even as we wait for his coming again.

In the Collect for Gaudete Sunday, we pray:

O God, who sees how your people

faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,

enable us, we pray, 

to attain the joys of so great a salvation

and to celebrate them always 

with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.

We celebrate this midway point of Advent “with solemn worship and glad rejoicing” because we are confronted with one of the Church’s most profound “both/and” mysteries. Christ is both present with us now, and he is coming again—this Christmas and at the end of time.

In a way, this teaching is mind-boggling. How can someone be already here and yet be coming? It’s as if we spent our days yearning for the return of a loved one only to discover that she or he is already with us.

In the first reading for the Third Sunday of Advent, the prophet Isaiah (Is 61:1-2a, 10-11) describes the anticipation we feel even as we rejoice in the Lord’s presence:

“I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations” (Is 61:10-11).

The Lord who is present among us now acts like a gardener, planting seeds that will grow to fruition over time. We rejoice in his presence, but we also long for the day when he will harvest what he has planted in us.

In the second reading, St. Paul (1 Thes 5:16-24) tells us to “rejoice always” (1 Thes 5:16), to “pray constantly” (1 Thes 5:17) and in all circumstances to “give thanks” (1 Thes 5:18).

We are not supposed to be gloomy or impatient. We are to wait in joyful hope for the one who will make us “perfectly holy” (1 Thes 5:23), which is another way of saying that we’re waiting for the seeds planted in us by the Holy Spirit at our baptism to bear their final fruit. We rejoice because we know that the garden of our souls will one day “make its growth spring up” (Is 61:11). Our job is to tend the garden—keep it free from weeds and vermin—and to wait patiently for the fruits of God’s labor “to make justice and praise spring up before all the nations” (Is 61:11).

This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28) tells us that John the Baptist, was sent by God to prepare a way for the Lord’s coming. His role 2,000 ago was to “testify to the light” (Jn 1:7) and to “baptize with water” (Jn 1:26). John was not the Messiah; he was his messenger. Even now, his words ring out: Make straight the way of the Lord. Remove all the obstacles, and smooth out all the rough patches, so that the Lord’s coming again can fill our hearts with everlasting joy.

The responsorial psalm for Gaudete Sunday is taken from the Magnificat, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s exuberant canticle of joyful praise:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked upon his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation. 

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy. 

Let’s join Mary in rejoicing at the nearness of her Son, Jesus. He who is already with us is coming again to bring healing, hope and lasting joy to our troubled world. And let’s heed the warnings of St. John the Baptist by doing everything in our power to prepare for the Lord’s coming again. †