Third Sunday of Advent: December 15, 2024

Jessica Thompson

Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20 | Philippians 4:4-7 | Luke 3:7-18 | Canticle 9

My niece Kylee is 16 years old, has a heart of gold and is an overall lovely human. This story is shared with permission:

At six years old, Kylee was riding in the car with my sister Jenell and asks “Momma, does everyone have houses.” My sister paused and then said “Sadly, no. Not everyone has a house to live in. That’s why we volunteer at the soup kitchen every week so people without houses can have a hot meal. And that’s also why when you grow out of clothes or we aren’t using something we give it away so that people who can’t afford clothes, toys, and other things can have some.”

As soon as Kylee arrived at home that day she disappeared into her room. Sorting through her clothes, toys, and other belongings Kylee accumulated a decent pile of items to give to to kids without houses. And Kylee wasn’t just giving away ripped clothes and broken toys. Some of her most loved possessions made their way into the donate pile. Kylee knew the joy these items gave her and wanted another child to experience that same joy.

After going through all her belongings, Kylee moved on to the rest of the house. Suddenly she appeared in the living room holding up my sister’s pillow declaring “Momma, you have two pillows and one head. You don’t need two pillows. You should give one to someone who doesn’t have any pillows.”

Out of the mouth of babes…

Kylee’s joy in giving didn’t translate so well when it was imposed on my sister and her personal sleeping preferences.

In the same way, John the Baptist’s call to repentance— or ‘to turn’ as he is tasked to “Prepare the way for the Lord” doesn’t always translate well when viewed in our 21st century lens. Being called a “Brood of Vipers” doesn’t feel very pastoral. In contrast to the rest of today’s readings, it feels out of place. That’s actually the result of our how our lectionary readings are ordered.

If we read earlier from both the prophets Zephaniah and from Isaiah, where our Canticle comes from, harsh judgement and calls to repentance are directed at Israel. God’s people have lost the way, and both are tasked at warning Israel, calling them ‘to repent’ or turn back to God, warning them of the impending Babylonian captivity, for the day of the Lord is near. Only then… after all their warnings do they share the Hope and Rejoicing to God and from God because the warnings, suffering, and oppression are never the end of God’s story. The Lord is in Your midst. The Lord is near.

John the Baptist follows the same format of prior prophets, only we get it all packed into one weeks reading. If we can get past the “brood of vipers” and look further we find a group of people who have followed John out into the wilderness searching for… something. It’s a diverse group— tax collectors, soldiers for the Roman Empire, I suspect from different social and economic spectrums, possibly different ethnicities. John warns them that their heritage doesn’t give them a pass for their own actions—he is calling each individual to search their own hearts and turn back to God. A group of seekers, and considering most people resort to seeking when life isn’t going so great, I suspect many came with their laments, fears, and woundings.

Today, the third Sunday in advent is set apart as Gaduete Sunday in our liturgical year. Gaduete is a Latin word meaning ‘Rejoice!’ Marked with a rose pink candle in the advent wreath and and Ann has added some beautiful pink flowers in our altar arrangement, this Sunday is meant to be a a pause in the waiting and preparing as we rejoice in anticipation of the coming of Jesus. The day of the Lord is near.

Yesterday St. Peter’s hosted a service of lament for all experiencing fear and uncertainty in light of the incoming political administration. On the surface, it is hard to understand how Gaduete Sunday fits within the pain, grief, and fear so many of us and our friends are experiencing this season. How can we ‘Rejoice’ in the midst of so much hurt?

According to theologian Thomas Aquinas, “Joy, is itself not a virtue, but is an effect of the virtue of charity or “love.” So joy is the effect of an outpouring of love. We rejoice because in the midst of all the pain, suffering, and anxieties of this life, in God’s abundant and unconditional love, no matter how far humankind strays from the path of righteousness, God never leaves us or abandons us. The Lord is near. And because of God’s abundant and unconditional love, we are able to accept that love and pass it on to others.

In their book, The Book of Joy, the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu discuss finding joy in the face of hardships, which both of them have experienced.

Bishop Tutu acknowledges the heartbreak, saying:

“Discovering more joy does not, I’m sorry to say, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily, too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreak without being broken.”

The Dalai Lama focuses on joy in action:

“Joy is the reward, really, of seeking to give joy to others. When you show compassion, when you show caring, when you show love to others, do things for others, in a wonderful way you have a deep joy that you can get in no other way. You can’t buy it with money. You can be the richest person on Earth, but if you care only about yourself, I can bet my bottom dollar you will not be happy and joyful. But when you are caring, compassionate, more concerned about the welfare of others than about your own, wonderfully, wonderfully, you suddenly feel a warm glow in your heart, because you have, in fact, wiped the tears from the eyes of another.”

I believe the Dalai Lama beautifully reflects on the joy that welled up in my six year old niece as she carefully examined each of her items, setting aside some of the best ones to give to someone in need. I also believe that is why John the Baptist told his followers to give what they did not need, to be fair to others in their jobs and satisfied with what they have.

Acts of compassion, care, and love are the basis for joy— in us and in others. In these acts of compassion and care, God’s loving presence is even more abundant and more tangible. It’s a change of heart, a recentering to God in community— the abundant Kin-dom of God that is accessible even in the midst of hardship, fear, and pain.

Even in the midst of our lament, we can rejoice because the Lord is Near.