Finding joy as we wait
by Sister Ann Rehrauer
Today we celebrate Gaudete (Rejoice!) Sunday. In the middle of Advent, the Scriptures invite us to rejoice because salvation is nearer than when we first came to believe. No matter what age we are, we are farther along on the journey of life than we were last year or even last week, and closer to our final destination – life in the fullness of God’s Kingdom.
The Advent joy described in the first reading is that of expectation and anticipation, as Isaiah foretells: the land will rejoice and bloom in abundance (no more natural disasters). Those who are sick or blind or disabled will be healed. Those held captive will return to their homes. It is a time and way of life we all long for – when God’s plan for humanity comes to fulfillment.
In the Gospel account, we switch time frames and look back to John the Baptist, the prophet doing the immediate preparation for the coming of Jesus -- Israel’s and our Messiah. John seems to realize that Jesus is the chosen one – but asks if he really is “the one to come” – just to be sure.
Jesus responds by quoting the words of Isaiah in the first reading, indicating that he was fulfilling those hopes for healing, for peace, and that the poor were having the good news proclaimed to them.
In our Advent days, we live in the ”in-between time” – after Jesus has entered our history and before his return in glory at the end of time (or at the end of our individual lifetimes). God’s promise of a Savior has been fulfilled, but our world has yet to experience lasting peace. Justice has not come for everyone. The poor still experience insecurity and hardship. Nations continue to train for war.
In the second reading from St. James, we receive our work orders for the current age. As we wait in joyful hope, we don’t sit passively. We continue the work of the Kingdom as we feed the hungry in our shelters, and advocate for the rights of the immigrants and the powerless. We clothe those suffering from the cold, pray for the conversion of hearts, and work for the transformation of unjust policies and systems so that the coming of the Kingdom where God is all, in all, and for all, will come soon.
How do you live with the tension of “the already” and the “not yet” of the Kingdom?
In the midst of these difficult days, what can you do to help family and friends maintain a sense of hope in the coming of God’s plan and experience the joy of life described by Isaiah – even now?