Sunday we light the third candle of Advent… its the pink or rose colored Gaudete candle; from the Latin word meaning, “rejoice.” Advent is a season of anticipation. Anticipation can be imagined as the necessary, if not complex blending of lament and hope. A longing for that which is not yet. It looks to the future with gravid awareness of what is lacking. Advent is less a celebration of hope, peace, joy, and love and more of a season of grieving their absence in everyday life. Aware of what is not yet, we look forward to the coming of Christ who is hope, peace, joy, and love.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is easily my favorite Advent hymn; few songs capture the combination of lament and hope as it does. Verse after verse bear witness to the reality of human suffering, loss, and longing… then the chorus! “Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
While I often associate exuberance, excitement, maybe even abandon with the word “rejoice,” here it feels more like a subdued dare… which feels right to me. In the reality of life – the often painful reality of life – we gather to “Joy” again. To Re-Joy. (Re)joice. We gather NOT because everything is great and we need an outlet for celebration (at least not most of the time), rather, we gather to imagine joy again. To discover again who we are. That we are not alone. And the God is with us. As French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, once said “joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
As 2020 draws to a close and we await the advent of new life a dare is whispered to the darkest corners of our hearts… a dare known by ancestors, and our one-day great great grandchildren alike… a subdued dare to rejoice… to remember who you are… to joy again.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav'nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Adonai, Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height, In ancient times didst give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Peace, dwight
