The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

 © 2021, Dr. Tamilio

Advent is such a somber time.  Although we are preparing ourselves to commemorate the birth of Jesus — and the Gospel readings show us that we also use this time to prepare for Christ’s return at the end of time — it seems to be a bit quiet and even dark this season.  After all, it comes just before the winter solstice, and December 21st is the darkest day of the year.  But I do not see this as a dour time as much as it is one of great import.  The expression “still waters run deep” fits the four weeks of Advent as much as it does people who are more reserved, but profound.

But today is different.  This is the Sunday that we lift up the joy that Christ has brought and continues to bring into our lives.  This is why we lit the pink candle today: it is a reprieve from the liturgical purple that surrounds the wreath.  The Latin term for this day is Gaudete, which means “Rejoice!”  When I think of this word in terms of Advent and Christmas, I cannot help but think of the soprano solo towards the end of the first part of Handel’s Messiah.  The words are a direct quote from the prophet Zechariah (9:9-10).  It goes like this:

Play Air (soprano): Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, from the Handel and Haydn Society

Beautiful, isn’t it?  That recording is from the 2013 performance of Messiah by the Handel and Haydn Society recorded in Symphony Hall right here in Boston.  Gillian Keith is singer and Harry Christophers, who is currently in the midst of his final season as H+H’s Artistic Director, is the conductor.  The words read:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy King cometh unto thee.  He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.

It’s hard not to be in a festive mood when you hear those words sung so beautifully.

So often, we talk about how to find joy when everything seems bleak.  But the truth is, there are many reasons for joy.  The website odysseyonline.com (which has nothing to do with the classic Greek epic by Homer) published an article by Maddie Howard five and a half years ago entitled “100 Reasons to be Happy.”  Don’t worry: I am not going to read all of them, but there are a few I want to lift up and share with you this morning since this morning’s service is all about joy.  Some of them may be hard to believe:

  • You are loved by more people than you could ever imagine.
  • You are beautiful.
  • Someone in your life wants you to be happy.

Some of them are simple:

  • Watching the stars at night.
  • Taking pictures with your best friends.
  • Chicken noodle soup when you are sick.

(Another simple one is “sleeping in on Sunday morning,” but, fortunately, or unfortunately, that does not pertain to any of you.)  Some of them are quite profound:

  • Listening to someone’s heartbeat.
  • Someone looks up to you.
  • Loving something or someone with the strongest passion.

And then there are those that prove that God is real:

  • Chocolate still exists.

Can I get an “Amen!” on that one?

My point with all of this is that there is much to be happy about.  You wouldn’t think of it when you listen to most people, and especially if you spend more than two minutes watching the news, but it is true.  Today, on the third Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the joy that is ours that comes from Jesus Christ.  That joy was shared by our Jewish sisters and brothers as well.  Our shared testament tells us that.  Charity Singleton Craig reminds us that, “Our ancient fathers and mothers apparently had much to be joyful over.  A quick survey of those early books of the Bible reveals joy gushing out of all kinds of experiences.  There was joy in festivals, harvests, and victory.  Things like having enough and being led by just leaders also created joy.  After the exile, we find God’s people joyously returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple.”[1]

If you look at the New Testament and the Early Church, you will see the same thing.  Even though Jesus told his followers that they needed to pick up their crosses and follow him, he also said (just prior to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion), “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).  People chided the Early Church.  One of the Early Church Fathers, Tertullian, described the astonishment that Pagans felt at the time when he captured their words upon seeing how the first Christians cared for one another: “See how they love one another.”[2]  According to the blog Saints365, “The early Christians’ love for each other went far beyond pious sentimentality.  Their love was tangible and practical: they took care of the sick, the widows, the orphans, and the strangers both materially and spiritually.  Those who witnessed their love could not help but be moved by what they saw.”

This love was inspired by the joy they felt because God had chosen to come and live among them as a human being — just like them.  It’s one thing to try to relate to a God who is sequestered in the heavens; it is something altogether different when that God is standing right in front of you performing miracles and then rising from the dead!  Maybe one of the problems facing mainline churches today is a self-made problem: they have failed to express the joy that is such an integral part of Christianity.  Many mainline churches today are involved in social and even political issues, which is fine for them if that is what they want to be about, but such a focus tends to overshadow the real reason why we are here, which is to revel in the utter ecstasy that is ours because of Jesus and what he brings into our life — the reality of salvation that we cannot find anywhere else.

This has been the case since Jesus walked the earth.  He inspired his contemporaries and those who heard their message and made it their own.  There is a story about “a third-century man [who] was anticipating death…[he] penned these last words to a friend: ‘It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world.  But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret.  They have found a joy that is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life.  They are despised and persecuted, but they care not.  They are masters of their souls.  They have overcome the world.  These people are the Christians — and I am [pleased to be] one of them.’”[3]

That joy may be 2000 years old, but it still feels fresh, because it is ours as well.  It is a pink candle all a-glow.  It is a carol lifted high.  It is a people who gather to pray and share their joys with one another.  Revel in it.  Proclaim it.  Share it.  Amen.

[1] Charity Singleton Craig, “The Wonder of Incarnation: Joy is Here,” September 22, 2020, taken from charitysingletoncraig.com.

[2] This, and the next line, are taken from saints365.blogspot.com.  Published February 9, 2015.

[3] Taken from Today in the World (June 1988): 18.