Rejoice in the Lord

The third Sunday of Advent is a day to rejoice in the Lord.  It is a time to celebrate who we are as people living with God’s life-giving and life-sustaining spirit.  It is a time to prepare for the new light of Christ’s birth amidst the darkness of our winter days.  It is a time to acknowledge and give thanks for God’s blessings throughout the generations; and it is a time to honor God’s compassionate concern for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, justice and peace. It is a time to rejoice in the Lord.

Our reading from the Old Testament is about the spirit of the Lord sending Isaiah “to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Isaiah exclaimed, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,”

Rejoicing in the lord is the theme of the Magnificat when Mary sang, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.” Rejoicing is also the subject of our reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Paul admonished his hearers by saying, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

As we progress through this season of Advent, waiting and preparing for the coming of God’s incarnate Word in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, there are a couple of areas in which I rejoice and invite you to rejoice with me.  One of those is our life together here at All Saints.  I rejoice in the fact that we are a welcoming community, open to everyone and inviting them to worship with us as we give glory to God in thanksgiving for all we receive.  I rejoice in the relationships we share as we are bound together, members one of another, and live out the ministries to which we have been called.  I rejoice in our programs of outreach and care for those in need in our neighboring communities. The groups that share our space, La Iglesia Luterana, City Meal Site, AA group, and many homeless and needy people who come into our church office asking for help.  What we are able do in responding to the needs of others is cause for rejoicing.

Another cause for rejoicing is what is happening in our Diocese and especially on North Main Street with the cathedral building of St. John.  A Our Bishop appointed a Steering Committee comprised of “mixed race and ancestry … to address the legacy of racism in Rhode Island and the nation.”  A grant application submitted this past week states, “Our idea is to create, at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, a National Center for Reconciliation to look deeply into the history of Rhode Island Episcopalians and enslaved Africans of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, and the legacy this history has for all Rhode Islanders.  We seek to tell a complex story of creative survival by African Americans amid continually challenging and brutal conditions, and to encourage the work of reconciliation for the people of Rhode Island and for our denomination as well…. The National Center for Reconciliation will confront the history of racism in our midst today, build relationships that effect its eradication, and train individuals dedicated to the work of reconciliation in their communities to promote needed social change.”

Confronting our collective history and working to transform our history and our Cathedral building into constructive change that benefits our church, our state and our nation is a reason for rejoicing.  The development of the National Center for Reconciliation will take time and money, and I shall keep all of us informed about its progress and ways we may be invited to participate.

Another reason to rejoice is the proclamation of John the Baptist in our gospel reading.  In the midst of the darkness of injustice during his time John “came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.”  When asked who he was, John said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’… I baptize with water.  Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."

The theologian and author, Bruce Epperly writes, “John creates a spiritual and ethical environment in preparation for Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation and healing.  John is “sent” by God; that is, God uniquely moved in his life, as God did in the life of Isaiah, calling him for a particular mission in his concrete historical setting.  John’s mission is not for the ages in some generic and impersonal way but for the here in now.  He is speaking to his nation, to the affluent whose hearts are opening to a new way of life and to those who recognize the need for turning their lives around.  But, his concrete first-century Galilean mission still transforms lives today.  It invites [us] to consider where we need to change course as individuals and citizens.

“John’s own ministry of transformation calls us to ask: What pathways are we called to prepare?  For whom are we called to advocate and support? … Where are you called to make way for God’s Light in the world?  We are part of this first-century story. As we nurture our relationship with God and prepare for God’s light in our midst we become messengers of restoration and transformation.”

The coming of the Messiah is cause for rejoicing.  Jesus was born so all of us, and all humanity could be reconciled to God.  The work we do, the ministries we carry forth here and everywhere are important steps along the way of restoring all people in relationship with one another and with God.  It is our calling as baptized members of God’s household.  As Isaiah said, let us “greatly rejoice in the Lord and exult in God, for he has clothed us with the garments of salvation.” Amen.