Gaudete (Third Sunday in Advent)

​Rev. Shemwell
Matt. 11:2-10
12/17/23

Homily for Gaudete (Third Sunday in Advent)

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Gaudete
in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. That’s the Latin text for St. Paul’s words in
his letter to the Philippian church chapter four verse four. In the English it reads:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, rejoice!” Dear brothers and sisters in our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as I mentioned last week, in the historic church year, the
names for many Sundays were taken from the first few Latin words of that day’s
introit. You just heard the Latin statement that opens this morning’s introit which
Micah and I chanted earlier, beginning with the verb: Gaudete – meaning “rejoice!”
And today is called Gaudete Sunday – or Rejoice Sunday, if you will – or simply the
Sunday of Joy. This Sunday is also called Rose-Sunday, hence our liturgical color for
the day. It is rose, by the way, not pink. Have you ever noticed the rose candle amid the
three other violet candles on the advent wreath? Well that rose candle, that one is for
today, for this third Sunday of Advent.
The rose color for this Sunday serves as a sort of lightening or brightening of this
season’s principal darker hue of blue, which is meant to symbolize a time of levity and
joy. The rose symbolizes a break for rejoicing amid the semi-penitential season of
Advent. As it happens, this Sunday is also called Refreshment Sunday. In any case, this
lightening and brightening through the use of paler rose vestments and paraments also
occurs in Lent, but we’ll get into that next year. For now, just know that this Sunday
above all other Sundays in the church year is all about rejoicing. “Rejoice in the Lord
always; and again, I say, rejoice!” Oh and get this: that word, “Gaudete,” or “Rejoice,”
in Paul’s letter, that little word is in the imperative mood, grammatically-speaking.
Thus, it is, in a sense, commanded. We are commanded.

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But why do we rejoice? Why are we commanded to rejoice? Well, let’s start
with our Gospel lesson, shall we? St. Matthew shares with us a narrative this morning,
the story of when John the Baptist, while imprisoned for publicly rebuking Herod, not
long before his unjust beheading, he sends his own disciples to Jesus in order to ask
Him a seemingly heartfelt question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look
for another?” Now I know some people really struggle with this particular text, it
bothers and perturbs them, because it appears on the face of it like John is expressing
some kind of doubt. You know, Jesus came, everything was going well enough, but
then poor John the Baptist got arrested and was awaiting inevitable execution. So some
read this passage as if John is frustrated and communicating through a bit of venting
some understandable human doubt about Jesus and His messianic identity. As if he’s
asking: If you are really the Messiah, then why am I, Your very own kin, in prison
facing dire consequences? What gives, Jesus?
But that could not be further from the truth, dear friends. John the Baptist did not
doubt His Lord. Not one bit. Rather he leapt in his mother’s womb when he heard the
voice of Mary, the mother of God, when he sensed his Savior nearby. John knew from
conception Who his Lord was. John is the one who was sent out alone into the
wilderness, fed on a diet of wild honey and locusts like a madman, to prepare the way
for his Lord, in fulfillment of Malachi’s prophesy. He is the one who boldly
proclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” He
baptized his own Lord in the Jordan River, remember? So no, John never doubted. We
have no reason to believe he ever entertained a single doubt, distrust, or hesitation in
his holy heart with respect to His God. He was quite literally facing death for preaching
what he knew to be true about his Lord – and he held fast to it.

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He did not send his followers to Jesus in order to articulate a personal doubt or some
sort of sorrowful disappointment in the Lord, but instead he sent them to teach them
something, to point them to the true light of Christ. He wanted to release them from
following him, a mere man, who was a mere man crying out in the wilderness all for
the sake of making ready the way for a greater, higher, perfect man. John wanted to
guide them instead to the Lord Almighty Himself.
And the answer Christ Jesus gave, for that matter, was not for John, it was for his
disciples to hear and to believe. Jesus understood John’s intention, they were blood
after all. And the Lord’s answer was moreover for the whole world to hear, obviously,
which is why St. Matthew, being inspired by Holy Spirit, documented it for the sake of
posterity, for our sake. Even this near final action of John’s, it was a matter of faith – it
was a matter of him decreasing so that his own Lord and Savior could increase. It was
him humbling himself, humiliating himself, before the One Who was always before
him and eternally preferred. John, even unto death, was faultlessly faithful. From womb
to tomb, he believed. He knew what the Lord had done, what the Lord was doing, and
what the Lord would eventually do. He understood the joy to be had in his God’s
salvation. And he wanted to share that good news with the rest of the world – he
wanted it to be heard by a few, and then written down through inspiration, and then
preached unto the ends of the earth. So even before his shameful death, he selflessly
sent his own disciples to Jesus to hear the truth for themselves, from the Truth’s own
lips, so that they, too, could rejoice in its fullness. That is not doubt, beloved, but the
very definition of faith – that you want others to bear witness to the truth.

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And what was the answer to John’s question: “Are you the one who is to come,
or shall we look for another?” Well, as St. Matthew records, Jesus said in reply: “Go
and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the
gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” This
was the Lord’s clear and unequivocal response. Christ, the incarnate God, when
confronted with the question of identity did not appeal to human reason, to abstract,
logical, and sound justifications for Who He is, though He well could have. Neither did
He plainly rebuke John for his question, and nor did He bother to question the sincerity
of John’s own faith, for again, He knew His cousin’s good intention.
Instead, Jesus only pointed to concrete present realities. He directed the attention
of his hearers to the power of the Word of God made manifest in a hurting and
groaning creation. The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, the poor are consoled with the gospel. Jesus directed those disciples of
John not to look within for their salvation, but to look outside themselves. He showed
them the redemption apparent right outside them, in their midst, to be witnessed
through their own five senses. Faith comes through hearing, St. Paul says, and hearing
through the Word of God. Jesus brought John’s disciples to faith in Him by way of
personally witnessing the reality of God’s glory evident all around them in creation. He
gave them faith by giving them a reason to rejoice. Look at what the Lord has done and
continues to do and rejoice! Behold, salvation is at hand. It is here. Look and see for
yourselves. It is indeed evident to all with eyes to see and ears to hear. That was our
Lord’s exceptionally good news for them that day, for those disciples, and so it is for us
this day.

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That message from Jesus wasn’t even remotely for John’s sake. Rather it was for
his disciples to hear, those presumably then-brand-new disciples of Christ. John wanted
to point them to the Christ, and Christ then pointed them immediately to His
miraculous gospel. The message was not for John but for those disciples whom he sent
to the Lord. And so it is for us now, us current disciples, and for the entire world until
the very end of time. This is the message, a message of hope and joy to the cosmos:
Look at what the Lord has done. Look at His Incarnation and miraculous birth, His
teaching, preaching, and healing. Gaze upon His passion, His cross, His death. Behold
His resurrection, His ascension, His promised return.
And now, dear saints, you yourselves look at what He has done just for you in
this place, in the church, within His spiritual body, all these centuries later. Look at
your Holy Baptism, behold the forgiveness freely offered through regular sacramental
absolution, and gaze adoringly upon the heavenly meal He offers you here, from this
altar, a feast of His own body and blood. Your God became flesh to save you, He
became a curse on a cross to deliver you from the curse of the law. He gives you sight
by the power of His Holy Spirit and He grants you faith through hearing His Word. The
spiritually blind now see, while the spiritually deaf now hear. Christ gives you, a
miserable sinner once lame with the onerous weight of meaninglessness, He gives you
a reason to walk, a reason to wake up every day and rejoice. He gives you meaning. He
cleanses you, He heals you, and bestows upon you the preaching of His life-giving
gospel. And one of these days He will raise you from the darkness of your grave in the
consummation of age along with all the faithful departed. This Sunday is the Sunday of
joy, but so is every Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.

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Because His resurrection is our own. It is the endless guarantee of being raised again,
of creation’s final rescue. In our baptism we were buried with Him all so that someday
we might be raised victorious with Him. And so we shall. Every Sunday is a Sunday of
joy, as is every day of the Christian life. Indeed, every passing moment is bound up
with that sanctifying imperative command that was so significant it was given twice by
the holy apostle: Gaudete! And again, rejoice!
John did not doubt, brothers and sisters. He held the faith steadfastly unto death.
He knew Jesus, he died for his Lord, and he will be raised with Him. John fought the
good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith, and he currently enjoys eternal life.
He kept the faith unto death and so should you. So hold fast to the faith always, no
matter what, for behold what the Lord has already done for you, what He is now doing
for you, and what He will soon do for you. It is not hard to believe when you just open
your eyes to see all God’s miraculous works and His many wondrous deeds. Therefore,
rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, rejoice. Rejoice this Sunday, rejoice every
Sabbath and Sunday, rejoice every single moment of your earthly life. That is your
duty, dear flock, and a duty you are so blessed to have. Count your blessings and
rejoice. In the most holy name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.