Homily 521 | 3rd Sunday of Advent | Year C
Today is one of those days that gets name from the first words of the Introit at Mass in Latin. From St. Paul we begin Mass with the words, “Gaudete in domino semper… Rejoice in the Lord always.” Yes, today is “Gaudete Sunday.” The verb meaning to rejoice is here in what grammatically we call the “imperative mood.” It’s a command. “You all… rejoice right now!” But what does it mean to rejoice?
Have you ever been bothered by the fact that it seems like Paul is telling everyone to just be happy? How can you command someone to be happy? It seems a bit like telling someone who is depressed to “just cheer up.” But Paul is not talking about being happy here. Joy is much more than happy feelings. You can choose to rejoice even when you’re feeling sad. The reason for this is the reason that Paul gives in the second part of the Intoit. For this we need to learn another Latin word.
Paul says to rejoice always (he even says it again) because “Dominus enim prope est…. For the Lord is near.” That word, prope, is the key to Christian rejoicing. God has entered our human condition, taken on our suffering, and has come “near.” He is right here with us. Note that he is not here to fix things or make everything ok. Rather he has come to be near us, especially in the difficult times of life. Things may be going badly, but we can rejoice even then, because the Lord is prope, he is near.
This being near, being present “in our midst” as the first reading states, reminds me of the rose candle we light in our Advent wreaths today. Notice that the rose candle does not come at the end of Advent. We don’t go from purple, to rose, to white. Rather, the rose candle comes in the middle of the purple candles. We go back to purple next week. As with life, things don’t always get gradually brighter. Sometimes things get darker. But right in the middle of it, we are called to rejoice. Not because we’re almost there or because there’s “light at the end of the tunnel.” We’re not focused on the end today. We’re focused on the right here and now, with all it’s problems and suffering. Into the midst of that comes Emmanuel, God with us. If we recognize that God is indeed prope, then St. Paul has it exactly right… gaudete!