3rd Sunday in Advent

Rejoice in the Lord Always,
Again I will say rejoice!

The past two weeks:
We’ve heard a lot of bible stories depicting despair and destruction:
All sorts of apocalyptic images that must take place before the Advent:
The “coming into being”
of the new creation yet to come:
and the Christ child in the manger.

And on this Third Sunday of Advent,
We begin to see a sort of shift
In this expectant journey to Christmas:

Today is traditionally called “Gaudete” Sunday:
Gaudete is the Latin word for Rejoice:

And it’s why we light the pink candle on the advent wreath:
There’s a moment of joyful “brightening”:
Moving from the deep purple to pink.
But it’s not ALL sunshine and rainbows.

There’s still this lingering scary talk:
As John the Baptist shouts about repentance:
Calling the crowds a brood of vipers:
And even proclaiming the coming of Christ:
Not as a sweet cuddly baby:
But as someone who will baptize with Fire:
With a winnowing fork in his hand:
Burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

It’s the same sort of stuff we’ve been hearing.
But there’s also this seemingly conflicting message of great joy.

Because right after John talks about this unquenchable fire,
This separation of the wheat and the chaff:
We’re told that John:
With many other exhortations:
Proclaimed the GOOD NEWS to the people.

All this scary talk from John the Baptist,
Doesn’t exactly feel like Good News.
It feels contradictory.

And to hear all of this,
About repentance, and fire, and winnowing forks:
On the same day that Paul urges us to “rejoice in the Lord always.”

Feels weird and conflicting.

But here’s the crazy part about that second lesson from Philippians.
Paul wrote that letter from PRISON.

Despite being in prison:
Paul is remarkably upbeat in this letter.
He’s exuding joy:
And encouraging his friends to trust God with all their worries and concerns.

And that’s not even all!
Our first lesson from Zephaniah is full images of joy:
Singing:
Shouting!
Rejoicing and exultation!
As if on a day of festival!

There’s a promise to remove disaster,
change shame into praise,
And a restoration of fortunes.

But there’s a weird contradiction in this lesson too.

Zephaniah tells us that all of this joyful delight will happen later:
It’s again a sort of apocalyptic image:

(although a happier one than the ones we we’ve been seeing.)

Zephaniah uses phrases like “at that time”
Or “on that day”
To describe a promise of something to come LATER.

The same phrase is used in the canticle today,
(Which is the reading that we read in place of the Psalm:
From the book of Isaiah)

This language of “on that day” or “at that time” signifies something not yet here:
Not yet in fruition:
But still coming into being:
An Advent:
Coming Later.

But here’s the contradiction.
Because although these things are yet to come:
We’re told TWICE in Zephaniah that “God IS in your midst.”

And that same phrase shows up in our canticle too.
If God is in our midst:
Midst doesn’t mean in the other room:
Or in some other place.
If God is in our midst:

That means that God is right in the center:
Right here:
Right now:
Not coming later.

The point of all of this is:
That contradictions aren’t necessarily impossibilities.
They don’t cancel one another out to create nothingness.

You CAN Be imprisoned and joyful:
Just like Paul.

You can actually even experience joy and sorrow at the same time.

You CAN be a brood of vipers:
In need of repentance:
And still seek good news of great joy in the knowledge of God’s forgiveness.

You can be a sinner, and also do great good.
You can do great good: and do great harm.

You CAN have God in your midst:
And still plead and long for MORE.

You CAN sing and dance and rejoice:

Even if things aren’t perfect.

You CAN long for something more:
While STILL being grateful for what you HAVE.

These seeming contradictions:
Remind us and teach us that It’s NOT all or nothing.

It’s not black and white.
It’s not Joy vs. Sorrow.
It’s not saints vs. sinners.

The Christian life is about ALL of it:
Human life is about ALL of it:
Our Advent:
Our coming into being is not a “one and done trip”

After all:
As we wait for our own advent:
Our own “coming into being”
We also know that we already ARE.
We already exist:
But it’s not just life or death.
It’s also the in-between.

Our advent is a continuous, ongoing adventure:
Where joy meets sorrow:
And mixes it all up.

A continuous, ongoing adventure:
Where the unquenchable fire:
The repentance and recognition of our sins:
Is also the source of good news.

It’s a continuous, ongoing coming into being:
Where we rejoice in God active among us:
And can also look forward to the day when we see and hear God even more
clearly.

God is already in our midst:
Already in the very center.
And yet, we still cry out “Come lord Jesus.”

We still pray,
As we prayed in our opening prayer today, to “Stir up your power, o Lord, and
with great might COME among us.”
Even though our Lord is already right here.

Advent is a good reminder that things are always more complicated than they
seem.
Humans are more complicated than they seem.
And the peace of God surpasses all of our human understanding.

We’ll never be able to fully understand Gods ways of peace, justice, and mercy.

What seems like a contradiction to us:
Might also be a part of God’s perfect plan.
But we’ll never know
Unless we live in our own advent:
Waiting expectantly:
For something more to come into being.

Amen