December 13th, 2020: Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11
1 Thessalonians: 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28 Reflection from Ann Marie Szpakowska “This joy* I have the world didn’t give it to me …The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.”
An African American Spiritual *hope, peace, love
The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also know as “Gaudete Sunday”. It is taken from the entrance antiphon quoting Philippians 4;4,5 – “Rejoice in God always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed God is near.”
The first and second reading admonishes us to rejoice: “I rejoice heartily in God, in my God is the joy of my soul.” And “Brothers, sisters, and siblings: rejoice always.” Replacing the expected Psalm, we pray or sing the Canticle of Mary also know as the Magnificat: “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Canticles are Song-Poems found in either the Old or New Testament. The Magnificat, we all know, is Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s greeting at the Visitation. Our gospel reading is about John the Baptist’s ministry. Although John was not know as an arbiter of joy, we need to recall that Elizabeth greets Mary and proclaims: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of God should come to me? As soon as the sound or your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that wat God has said to her will be accomplished!”
Rev. Anna Blaedel’s "Litany for the Advent 3"* reminds us that “the joy of God with us does not come as naïve optimism …Joy cannot be imposed … or commanded. It is mingled with grief, exists side by side with mourning, knows that pain and death are all too real, but do not have the final word. The joy tends tenderly to beauty and softness and the gladness that comes from paying attention to what matters. The Joy of God-with-us is collective, liberating us from despair. Joy is gestating in darkness; it comes unexpectedly. Joy invites our expectation and demands our participation. Prepare the way for joy. May joy be birthed among us, within, and through us..."
A contemporary adaption of the Magnificat is found in Rory Cooney’s The Canticle of the Turning. Each verse ends with “The world is about to turn.” COVID-19 has turned everyone’s world upside down. None of us have been spared. Finally, we can truthfully say we are all in the same boat. The pandemic is the great equalizer. The verities we knew are shaken and untrue. Yet God continues to call us, as LGBTQI people, to embody God’s persisting and unending love. It asks us to remain countercultural, radical, and even subversive. A quiet persistent joy pushes us towards hope which promises a justice and peace which is to be found beyond who we are and into what God needs us to be. While creation’s heart is breaking and the whole world groans, we hear our fearless Mary sing her joyful justice song. May we continue to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This is what God requires of us.
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