Zephaniah 3:14-20; Psalm 146:4-10; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Rejoice and exult with all your heart. So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news.
Do you feel joyful today? Is your heart so full of joy you want to sing out, to sing aloud, to shout? Gaudete! Rejoice! I don’t know about you, but I seem to be so busy, there seems to be so much still to be done, so many tasks, so much shopping, so much preparation. I’m not sure I feel like rejoicing. I’m not sure I have time for rejoicing. And looking at the news, at the way the world is today, it doesn’t inspire joy: anxiety, trepidation, despair perhaps. Joy, shouts of alleluia, praise, well they seem to be lost in the fear and news reports. In this season as we prepare to welcome the light of the world, it can seem that the darkness is overpowering. And yet, today is Gaudete Sunday, the time in Advent when the readings call us to rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say rejoice!
Why should we rejoice? I think because we do have much to rejoice over. We are lucky, and we should give thanks for the good things we have, the good opportunities, the friends, our families, our health – whatever it may be, the fact that we can come together this morning to worship freely: we can, in the words of Zechariah from last week, worship God without fear. These are good things, these are worth recognising and remembering before God, because we know that many do not have these advantages, some live in fear, some live in poverty, some live in pain, some cannot worship freely. And giving thanks for our opportunities doesn’t take from the needs of others, it should make us more keenly aware of their needs, of the desire of God for all to live in peace, for the hungry to be satisfied and the lowly lifted up. Our rejoicing should open our eyes and make us hunger and thirst for righteousness sake.
And we should rejoice today because our readings demand that we feel joy, that we rejoice before the Lord, in the Lord, always, again I say rejoice! Even John the Baptist is offering hope. The hope of the future, of the Christ-child. And he is forthright! “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” But even in this attack he offers them hope: “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” They too can have a chance of salvation through repentance. Throughout the Gospel reading those who come to John are challenged to change, to repent, to turn their lives around and live as God has commanded throughout the prophets. And this is the hope we can rejoice in: they are offered the hope that if they change, if they rethink their lives, there is salvation, there is expectation. John tells them, if they change then they will be gathered into God’s granary. The hope is offered, is gifted, freely, if they will only hearken to the voice of God through the prophets, through John the Baptist. “What should we do?” they ask, to be saved, to live lives pleasing to God. And John answers them: don’t extort or abuse others, share with those who have nothing, or little. Because, as the psalm says, “the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; … the Lord watches over the strangers: he upholds the orphan and the widow.” And if this is what the Lord does, then we are to do the same: to care for the vulnerable in our midst.
And this applies to us too. John’s message of hope, of the offer of redemption, is there for us too. And this is another reason we can rejoice. But, this hope asks us to act. We, like the people who came to John in the wilderness, need to prepare ourselves, we need to rethink, reassess our lives, and attune them to the will of God. The one who “keeps faith for ever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry… sets the prisoners free” as the psalmist tells us. We, too, like the tax-gatherers and soldiers, are to make sure our actions reflect God’s love, that our actions do not oppress others, that we do not take more than our fair share of God’s good things. It is this rethinking of our lives and actions and how they affect others, that will help us prepare for the coming of the light, of the one who will baptise with “the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John asks to look at how our lives affect those around us, how our actions affect those around us. And if our actions do not reflect the love of God for all God’s people, if we do not reveal the love of God in our lives, then we need to rethink, to retune, and turn to Christ.
And this is the Gospel, the “good news to the people.” That we can change, with the help and guidance of God, through the power of the Spirit following the example and command of Christ. We can repent of past actions, and renew ourselves in the light of Christ’s message, life and promise. And it is to this hope we turn at Advent. Because we know that God is in our midst: the God who came to us, vulnerable, poor, as a gift from God. And God lived amongst us, loved us, showed us how to live and love as he does, and gave us those two great commandments: love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbour as ourself. It is this God who is near, who brings the kingdom near and gives us such hope that we can, and should, rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. And it is this hope in the love of God in action that can bring light to what seems an all too dark world. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Amen.