December 14th Essay: Rejoice! Really?
Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin for “rejoice.” It is from the opening antiphon of today’s liturgy. “Rejoice in the Lord always …rejoice. The Lord is near.” Is there cause for us to “rejoice” in these distressing times in which we now live?
What is the cause of our rejoicing? The antiphon tells us: the Lord is near. This is not a reminder that Christmas is less than two weeks away. It is a reminder to us that the Lord is near right now. The Lord, indeed, is within us and within our midst. Jesus dwells in each one of us personally by virtue of our baptism in which we come to share even now in his risen life. All of the baptized together form the body of Christ, that is, the Church and the Lord, of course, dwells within the Church. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the Lord is present in all the members of his body who have gathered in remembrance of him. The Lord is also present outside the body of Christ, that is, the Church, wherever the values of the reign of God, which Jesus inaugurated in his life and ministry, are present in this world. Wherever we witness an all-inclusive compassion, an all-inclusive mercy, wherever we witness selflessness and generosity, wherever we witness the desire for the good of all persons, and the desire to lift up the poor and marginalized, the Lord is present there as his values, the values of God’s reign, are present there. Yes, indeed, the Lord is near, and that is cause for rejoicing.
The challenge for each of us is to deepen our participation in the risen life of Jesus Christ so that we are powerfully aware of his presence within us. In that awareness, we rejoice that we share in his very life right now so that we are with him, and he is with us. Nothing in this world can separate us from him—not even death. Instead, death will be our passage into the fullness of life in him. This is reason to rejoice. Yet, our intimacy in Jesus Christ is predicated on a life of prayer and action. Through prayer, we deepen our awareness of his presence within us, and we hear him call us to lives of deep compassion, lives rich in mercy, lives marked by selflessness and generosity, lives in which we truly desire the good for all of God’s people, lives in which we share his passionate concern for the poor and marginalized. In living in fidelity to what Jesus calls forth from us, we serve as agents of this world’s transformation. This is cause for us to rejoice as it joins us ever more intimately to Jesus Christ. It is also cause for this world to rejoice as we work in cooperation with Jesus to overcome what is unjust and evil in our world today.
Migrants have cause to rejoice when they see persons stand in solidarity with them and advocate for them. Workers have cause to rejoice when we join with them in their struggle to obtain the wages, hours and benefits necessary for them to live in dignity. The unborn rejoice within the womb when we are advocates for them. Those who are poor rejoice when we demand that our society provide for them what they need to live a dignified live. Are we persons who are cause for rejoicing in our world today? If so, we have cause for rejoicing, as the Lord is, indeed, near to us. The Lord is within us and acting through us to bring joy to this world.
Will Christmas be for us a day to rejoice as we celebrate our intimacy with the One whose birth we commemorate; an intimacy made manifest in how we are the cause for this world’s rejoicing?
— Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor