Still A Time to Rejoice
In the mist of world and national turmoil, it’s easy to wonder today if there’s any reason for hope or rejoicing. Nations are at war with other nations. Some nations are in the midst of civil wars. Some nations are acting as if they were formally at war, despite minimal evidence and war never having been declared or approved. It’s not a pretty picture this December.
And yet, we have reached the Third Sunday of Advent, a Sunday known as Gaudete Sunday – Rejoice Sunday. So what signs are there of hope? For what are we to rejoice?
Isaiah speaks of a promise made long ago regarding the power of the Lord coming into our world. This power isn’t manifested in massive movements of earth or great signs in the sky. It’s not found in the arrival of armies or the newest, greatest weapons available to powerful nations or warriors. It’s not met with great fanfare.
No, none of the things we usually associate with power is among the signs Isaiah tells us to watch for. Instead, “the desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”
What? That sounds like Springtime. Here on the central coast of California, it sounds like the land looks after the first rains of Fall arrive and the birds and butterflies return from their journeys to the north. The fields resound with the chatter of the birds, telling each other of all that they have seen and all the family and friends they met in their travels. Flowers spring up. Butterflies flutter through the air.
Nothing and everything spectacular to see – is this part of the way the Lord comes?
When God comes, what will happen?
Isaiah assures us: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared, then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” Again, these are not earthshaking events, except to those who experience this healing, those whose lives are transformed by the power of the Lord. (Is 35:1-6a, 10)
But that was all a long time ago, some might say. Surely, when the Lord actually came, the signs would have been different. But were they?
John the Baptist came, calling the people to change their ways and prepare for the coming of the Lord. As prophets so often do, he got in trouble with the ruler, in this case King Herod, and was thrown into prison. He heard of the teaching and healings being done by his cousin, Jesus, and sent his followers with an important question. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another.” A very reasonable question. If Jesus denied being the one who was to come, then who would it be and where would he be found?
Jesus responded by reminding them of the ancient prophesies. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” He added, “And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
The Lord is acting in the everyday world of those who suffer and who are abandoned by their society, just as the prophets foretold.
Jesus went on to remind the people who had come to hear him teach that John did not come as a member of the powerful ruling elite of his country. He came as a prophet – one sent to prepare the way for the Lord. “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mt 11:2-11)
The kingdom of heaven – the new creation, the new reality that began with the coming of Jesus into the world. The new world of blessing he proclaimed to all.
The earliest followers of Jesus took his words seriously. The kingdom is at hand. All will be new. None will know the day and the time when all will change and the kingdom become obvious in the daily reality of human life in this world. So they lived in hope and expectation.
Centuries have passed now and things still seem to be going rather poorly among humans. We can appreciate the impatience of the early Christians who heard the words of James the apostle telling them, “Be patient … until the coming of the Lord.” Farmers have to wait for their harvest. The rains come when they will. And we too must be patient and filled with hope, because “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (Jas 5:7-10)
And so, we wait. We wonder when the wonders of the Kingdom will become the way of the world. We may even lose hope at times.
Yet Isaiah’s words, and the words of Jesus and St. James are again here to remind us. The Kingdom is at hand.
Where do we see it today? We see it in programs set up to feed the hungry. We see it in community clinics that provide care for those whose income is too low to pay for what the treatment for their conditions really cost. We see it in tutors who work with children who are struggling in school and may still be learning the language of the nation among whom they are now living. We see it in networks of people who gather to welcome and support immigrants and asylum-seekers. We see it in the quite ministry of a retired nurse who helps care for her elderly neighbor across the street every evening. We see it in children who befriend newcomers to their school or neighborhood. We see it in local and national leaders who speak up and work to establish policies that protect the vulnerable and find solutions for the challenges that are too large to be successfully handled by individuals or small communities.
The kingdom is alive and well in our communities. It is growing quietly and sometimes under the radar, to protect those in danger of harm from the powerful. But it is here. It is growing. It will not be overcome by those who seek to destroy it by force.
And so, we again rejoice. We give thanks to the Lord for working with and loving so deeply the everyday ordinary people of this world. And we do our part to build up the kingdom – one day at a time, one meal at a time, one smile at a time.
Peace be with you. Rejoice, for the Kingdom is at Hand!
Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent – Cycle A
