Tags
gaudete, Incarnation, joy, Latin, rejoice, sing for joy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zephaniah
I often think of my high school Latin teacher. We – all eight of us – persevered through four years of Latin because of Sister Thomas Aquinas. We not only learned a great deal of Latin but were treated to at least 45 minutes each school day of rejoicing in the love of learning and sharing community. We were confident not only of the love Sister Thomas had for her subject but also the joy she took in us. And it was a great lesson in reciprocal feeding. We loved her and the language too.
Today is Gaudete Sunday in Christendom. One can hardly get through the lectionary readings without a feeling of joy and confidence entering our inner space at the command to rejoice (Gaudete!). Zephaniah, a seldom heard from voice in the Hebrew Scriptures, leads off with the call to rejoice and be glad with all your heart because God will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in his love – even singing for joy because of you. But it doesn’t stop there. Paul tells the Philippians and us this morning to rejoice in the Lord always and have no anxiety at all because that will bring us the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.
I listened this morning to a vibrant young woman speak about what she called “the rejoice choice”* – choosing a way to be that is not tied to outcome or circumstance but rather to a deep conviction of God’s presence. What a great message for this Sunday when the celebration of the Incarnation is so near. Let us all remain in this stance of expectancy and rejoice!
*Catholic Women Preach – Elyse Galloway
Today I anticipate joy in abundance. If you read yesterday’s post you’re probably thinking I’m referencing the acclamation: This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it! I must admit I was relieved that I remembered to say it to myself when I got out of bed this morning. If nothing else, I ought to practice what I preach! But I digress!
It has not escaped my notice that each day since the vigil of Easter the gospel acclamation has been the same verse. From Psalm 118:24 we hear or read, This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. This morning I think I finally got the intended message.
There seem to be lots of reasons to get moving this morning and greet the day with anticipation. The reasons don’t come from the outside; the day (as much as I can determine it from the vantage point of my bedroom window) is looking rather dismal. But the lectionary readings declare the truth that the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord and the verse before the gospel shouts out the recognition that this is the day that the Lord has made! Rather like “Wake up!” or “Don’t miss it!” that declarative is followed with the imperative: Let us be glad and rejoice in it!
The waiting is over. Prepared or not we acknowledge that Christ comes today to each of us and all of us, calling our hearts to a love that is as divine as it is human, drawing us forth in the humility of one born like us while at the same time offering us riches beyond our comprehension, if only we agree to pour ourselves out in generosity of spirit. The paradox is that this gift to the Christ can be given in the smallest of ways: each day a smile or a kind word to someone starving for affection, ten minutes of silence to heal a noisy world or…name your own offering of light. Every gift is acceptable to the Christ. Now it is He who is waiting for us. Let us rejoice and give thanks!
Today begins the final countdown to our celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus at Christmas. It is, I think, as significant as it is unusual that today is both Gaudete Sunday – the call to Rejoice! – as well as the day when we begin to hear the O Antiphons, those short chants sung as refrains, at vespers, the evening prayer of the Church.
Sometimes opportunity is so fleeting that we easily miss it if we aren’t paying attention. Take, for example, the coming of light to the sky. That’s something that happens every morning so it’s often taken for granted. Today, because of the shift to Daylight Saving Time, I was happy to see that it was in process as I started the trek downstairs for my coffee. Had I not been paying attention when I sat to write on my return I would have missed a breathtaking red sky whose glory dissipated within two minutes. I was almost too busy reading Paul’s staccato-like advice to the Romans in chapter 12 to look out the window. Both “feasts for the eyes” were worthy of a pause.
Here in Windsor we are in the midst of a four-day Wisdom School whose theme is Visionary Seeing. I just read Nan Merrill’s translation of Psalm 105 and found it quite appropriate for this middle day, giving us impetus to wake up to new and deeper ways of knowing. I thought it worthy of consideration for a broader audience as well so here is a lovely modern rendition of PS 105:1-6 in paragraph form. It is especially the last line that seems to me consonant with visionary seeing.
