Oh Rosy Candle Burning Brightly!

December 13, 2009: Third Sunday of Advent
Zephaniah 3:14-18a Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.

The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What do you want us to do?” ”If you have two coats,” he replied, “give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it to those who are hungry.” Even tax collectors—notorious for their corruption—came to be baptized and asked, “How shall we prove to you that we have mended our lives?” “By your honesty,” he replied. “Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you do.” “And what about us?” some soldiers asked. John replied, “Don’t extort money by threats and violence! Don’t accuse anyone of what you know he didn’t do! Be content with your pay!”

Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”Exhorting them in many other ways, John preached good news to the people.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Introduction
Rose for Gaudete Sunday

The first reading for this third Sunday of Advent is from the prophet Zephaniah who exhorts the people saying, “Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel! Rejoice with all your heart, Jerusalem! The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you.” (Zeph. 3:14‑15) And the second reading contains the opening words of the old Latin Mass (the Introit): “Gaudete semper in Domino! Iterum dico, gaudete!” “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4) In the course of time, the third Sunday of Advent came to be called Gaudete Sunday.

Before the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, Advent was a strictly penitential season; it forbad all feasting, partying and decorating before December 24. It was natural, therefore, to rejoice on the third Sunday of Advent: it meant we were more than halfway through the sober season of Advent, and soon we would be able to intoxicate ourselves with the sounds, scenes and scents of Christmas. The color of the priest’s vestments on Gaudete Sunday was changed from penitential purple to joyful rose. And one of the candles on the Advent wreath was colored rose to highlight the Sunday which commands us to rejoice.

A command to rejoice?

We tend to frown upon people who try to command our emotional states. If I want to bewail some deep loss or setback I’ve suffered, or some big mistake I’ve made, then bewail I shall, and don’t tell me to cheer up. If I want to go about feeling sorry for myself because of the cruel birth or unfortunate circumstances, then self-pity I shall feel, and don’t tell me to cheer up. If I want to go about grouching "Bah humbug" like old Scrooge because of something that went wrong in his early life, then grouch I will, and don’t tell me to cheer up.

You just don’t command people’s emotional states. Oh, but the prophet Zephaniah did just that! Speaking to a group of poor benighted refugees in a slum district of Jerusalem, he tells them to “Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel! Rejoice with all your heart, Jerusalem! The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you.” (3:14, 17) And St. Paul, too, commands the people and himself as well to rejoice. Sitting in prison and bound with chains, he tells the Philippians to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near." (Phil 4:4)

Fr. Delp’s rejoicing

The German Jesuit, Father Alfred Delp (executed by Hitler on February 2, 1945), sitting in prison and bound with chains, wrote in his diary for Gaudete Sunday, 1944,

How is it possible to rejoice in a prison cell (a space of three paces in each direction)? How is it possible to rejoice when your hands are fettered, and your heart is overwhelmed with longings, and your head is filled with problems and worries? Yes, happiness can happen even under these circumstances. I tell you every now and then my heart can scarcely contain the delirious joy that's in it. Suddenly, not knowing why, my spirits soar and there is no doubt in my mind that all the promises[1] hold good. [He admits that that might just be an unconscious defense mechanism against depression.] But not always. Sometimes it is due to a wonderful premonition of wonderful things to come. (Prison Meditations of Fr. Alfred Delp)

Rejoice this Christmas 2009?

With Fr. Delp we ask how is it possible to rejoice -- especially this Christmas 2009, as a painful recession has just now peaked at 10.2 percent unemployment? How is it possible to rejoice this Christmas 2009, as a nasty national debate about healthcare (divided strictly along party lines in which one side does its best to misrepresent the other) now rages on? How is it possible to rejoice this Christmas 2009, as an unpopular war which began way back in October 2001 in Afghanistan, and which now numbers 4,682 casualties as of November 13, promises no end in sight and disheartens a war-weary nation? How is it possible to rejoice this Christmas 2009, as the memory of the horrific massacre in Fort Hood, Texas, November 5 (which killed 13 and wounded 29) still lingers vividly in our minds?

And to ask the question in deeply personal and immediate terms: how is it possible to rejoice this Christmas 2009, when we, or someone we love dearly, has received a chilling verdict from the doctor? How is it possible to rejoice, when we’ve just become one of the 10.2 percent unemployed? How is it possible to rejoice, when we’ve just lost a pet who loved us unconditionally? Yes, indeed, how is it possible to rejoice, when we’ve just recently lost a partner of 30, 40, 50, 60 years?

Joy is an inside job

It’s possible because joy is not just some capricious mood or willowy reed at the pure mercy of life’s benign and favorable winds. It’s possible because joy is an inside job! That is to say, it’s a decision we make to not get stuck in our losses, mistakes, diminutions or tragedies. To evoke the climate of December, joy is a decision not to be snowbound by self-pity or useless regret or unavailing grief or relentless anger. Joy is a decision not to be snowbound either by unlucky birth or by unlucky circumstances.

Joy was an inside job for a 92-year-old lady who made a decision not to get stuck in her diminutions. Though she was legally blind, she always managed to fashionably coif herself and perfectly apply her makeup. Recently she moved to a nursing home; the recent death of her 90-year-old husband made the move necessary. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, the nurse in charge gave her a kind of visual description and preview of her tiny room. “Oh, I love it,” she said with the enthusiasm of an eight year old having just received a new puppy as a Christmas gift. “Oh, but Mrs. Jones,” the nurse replied, “you haven’t seen your room yet. Just wait until you do! You’re going to be so happy.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide upon ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on what kind of furniture is in it or how it is arranged. It’s what’s in my mind that counts. I have already decided to be happy with my room. I make the decision to be happy every morning when I wake up. I can choose to spend the day in bed and bemoan the difficulties I have with parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work.

Joy as a personal decision to rise above birth and circumstances is a mystery. Why does that little lady decide to get out of bed and be grateful for the parts of her body that work, while another decides to lie in bed and bemoan the parts that don’t? Or why does old Ebenezer Scrooge, who had all the money he needed, make a decision to grouch out “Bah Humbug” to his nephew, while his nephew who didn’t have a penny in his pocket, decides to sing out “Merry Christmas” to old Scrooge?

Joy is also an outside job.

Joy is an inside job -- a personal decision we make. But it’s also an outside job; that is to say, it also depends on circumstances out of the reach of personal decision. It depends on what might be called “fortunate birth” -- that is to say, birth into circumstances of good health, education, parenting, etc. Joy even at times seems to depend on pure genetics; some people seem simply born joyful, no matter what.

I am not one of those gifted with “fortunate birth,” and joy doesn’t come easily for me. That might sound self-piteous but it’s the truth, and here’s not the place to tell my story. At the end of the day, a sheer personal decision for joy on my part has never been enough for me. My joy has always needed help from outside. And along the highway of my life, perceptive and compassionate people have given my joy the help it needs.

Mystic joy!

Fr. Delp sitting in prison writes, “My heart can scarcely contain the delirious joy that's in it.” That’s mystic joy, indeed, and it’s pure gift. Old Ebenezer Scrooge, too, was eventually overcome with mystic joy and pure gift. As the curtain goes up on the Christmas Carol, old Scrooge is grouching “Bah, Humbug,” and he’s boiling people in their own pudding and piercing their hearts with stakes of holly. But as the curtain goes down, there is a new Scrooge. Visited by the three mystic Spirits of Christmas, he is now jumping up and down with joy in his heart and tears in his eyes. And he’s shouting out a promise to honor Christmas in his heart and keep it all year round.

Conclusion

Oh Rosy candle burning brightly
Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy is an inside job!”
That is to say, it is a personal decision not be snowbound
by self-pity or useless regret or unavailing grief or relentless anger.

Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy is also an outside job!”
That is to say, it is also outside the reach of personal decision,
and it needs help from others and a heart willing to receive it.

Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy every now and then is also a mystic job!”
That was the joy of Fr. Delp and old Scrooge;
both could scarcely contain the joy they felt.
That joy was pure gift, and it’s given to whom it’s given.

[1] One of those promises is ”Blessed are they who suffer persecution, they shall be comforted.”