December 11, 2022 – Third Sunday of Advent

How many of you have joined the Marie Kondo phenomenon and started cleaning out your clutter while asking the simple question, “Does this spark joy?”? Some say that Marie Kondo has brought joy back into the consciousness of the culture in a big way. Marie says that if your items don’t bring joy into your life, then you thank them for their service to you over the years and you let them go. True aficionados will say there is more to it than that. And there probably is. But just the evocation of joy is something to take note of—especially when it sits alongside gratitude.

The third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete” Sunday. Each Sunday in the season of Advent is supposed to be feast day, a celebration, but this week is especially so. The third week of Advent is a time of joy, a time of being thankful for all that has been given—the promise of the Savior who has come, who is present, and who promises a return. The third Sunday of Advent is a day for celebration. Peel away the mood that Advent brings, and rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, “Rejoice!” We are – as the bulletin cover reminds us – to feel joy, because Jesus releases us from our sins and fears.

Today’s reading from Isaiah drips with joy. In a desert culture, images of flowing water and lush greenery are signs of good fortune, of blessing and prosperity, and, of course, of joy. But Isaiah goes overboard, turning the desert into a swamp and the hardy desert grasses into reeds and rushes – river plants. There are pools and springs; it almost overwhelms.

Isaiah also gives us some insight into the nature of joy. Joy is communal; joy is shared and shareable. It helps us reach out and gather up others, particularly those who aren’t yet experiencing the joy. “Strengthen the weak hands” is a statement designed to help us be with others. It isn’t “strengthen your own weak hands,” but strengthen the hands of others. And it is an imperative in the Hebrew – get out there and strengthen!

Notice, too, that the healing comes from the sharing of the joy. Wholeness comes from the invitation, the reaching out. Isaiah doesn’t say, “Go and heal”; he says, “go and build up, and then healing will happen.” And together, we will all become pilgrims on the way. And no one, not even us fools, can lose our way when we travel together in joy.

But I bet you’re thinking… WAIT! Didn’t anyone tell John the Baptist that this was Gaudete Sunday? Our Gospel text doesn’t seem to be dripping with joy. Or is it? Perhaps we’re not seeing it because we begin in jail. Matthew doesn’t pull any punches as he describes John’s current status. John was in prison and was starting to doubt. In chapter three, John recognizes Jesus as one who is to come, the one John had been proclaiming. He said, “you should baptize me!” Jesus told him to calm down and do his thing. Then he was sure; now he was wondering. Prison can do that to a person – squeeze out the joy, the hope, the certainty.

John had taken a risk, gone too far, spoken out against the behavior of the people in power and now he was suffering for it. He was languishing in prison. So he sent his still faithful followers out with a question. Some argue that he was doing it for THEM. Maybe so. But maybe he needed assurance himself. “Was I right that day at the river? Was that one really the hope of which I spoke?”

“Are you the One who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” He knew he couldn’t wait; he didn’t have time to wait; his days were numbered.

Matthew doesn’t tell us whether the disciples of John went back with the news or not. We assume they did. We HOPE they did. And what they brought was joy. “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” Watch the reign of God breaking out here and there. Listen for the sound of laughter and hope, sung by the voiceless, danced by the broken. Can you hear it? Can you see it?

The flip side of hope is disappointment.  Often as we prepare for a season of joy, we are plagued by fears of disappointing others.  Did you get gifts that will be meaningful?  Did you spend enough?  Did you spend way too much, trading temporary pleasure for later pain, so that you wouldn’t disappoint anyone? 

Our Gospel lesson shows that people could even be disappointed with Jesus.  John the Baptist hears what Jesus has been doing and he sends a messenger to ask, “Are you the messiah or should we wait for another?” It seems strange since John is the one who baptized Jesus and announced him as the messiah to everyone. Did John fear that he had made a mistake? What had he heard about Jesus that disappointed him? 

If we look back at the previous chapters of Matthew’s Gospel to see what Jesus was doing, he was busy teaching and preaching, and training his disciples to go out and preach and draw others in. To us, it looks good, but remember that John was viewing all this from jail. Perhaps he was expecting more of a military and political messiah who would lead a revolution, or who would more vigorously condemn and resist those in power.  Maybe he thought the messiah should get his mentor out of jail. After all, what is a messiah for?

I think the message this morning is that you cannot be disillusioned unless you had illusions to begin with. Disappointment is often the result of false hopes and unrealistic attitudes. The Gospel points to an important caution to our season of hope. Beware of the trap that even John the Baptist falls into. Make sure you are hoping for the right reasons. 

When I read Jesus’ hopeful words quoted from Isaiah, it strikes me that they are words about empowerment. Jesus wants to open our ears and eyes, to see and do the truth; he wants to strengthen our feeble knees and give us words to speak. These great gifts are like water flowing through the wilderness, blossoms in the desert. Jesus makes a way known to us where there seemed to be no way before; and at that point, we have to get involved in our own hope. 

Jesus’ gifts of grace do not always make our lives easy, but they do make our lives possible. Some of you here this morning have had surgery this year, a knee replacement so you can walk, a shoulder surgery that makes an arm useful again, cataract surgery so you can keep your sight. The gifts of grace do the same thing for our souls. Jesus is the Great physician, our true messiah, who knows what our soul needs to heal and to move forward. The next step is up to us. The fulfillment of our hopes depends upon what we do once we can see and hear and walk and live the Good News.

Looking for joy on this Gaudete Sunday doesn’t mean ignoring all that is wrong in the world. But it does mean paying attention to what is right, what is of God, what the sign is that God is still at work in the world around each one of us. What do YOU hear and see as you proclaim the joy of the presence of God? That, my friends, is the true hope of our Advent — that those signs you see of God around you may continue to grow and spread joy.