How are you faring on your journey through Advent? Do you find the dark evenings and chilly weather disheartening? Are you running out of steam, becoming impatient with the waiting before the celebration of Christmas begins? Perhaps you would like just to curl up somewhere warm and hibernate until you wake up to the joy and festivity of Christmas morning.
Last weekend, Karen and I went on a short visit to Cambridge. The first part of our trip was quite tedious, as we crawled with the rest of the traffic around the grey, concrete purgatory we call the M25 in the rain. When we got to Cambridge, however, our spirits lifted. Cambridge is, of course, a beautiful, medieval town, and the brightly lit shops and streets hung with seasonal decorations made it all the prettier in contrast to the gloomy, wintery skies. Although we were, for the present, still experiencing the discomfort of the cold season, we could see signs reminding us it would not last forever. The decorations announced that a time of joy and comfort is on its way. They said, cheer up and pull yourselves together! No hibernating: carry on getting ready to celebrate Christmas!
That is the message we will be reflecting on this Sunday. It will be the Third Sunday of Advent, which we traditionally call Gaudete (“Rejoice!”) Sunday. So far in our journey through Advent we have been in penitential mood, walking in darkness and dwelling in the land of the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2), in solidarity with the people of Israel in former times, as they waited for an end to their exile and the coming of God’s Messiah to rescue them. It has been traditional to fast during this church season to show our awareness that we also need God to act. The deep purple colour of our Advent candles resonates with this sombre theme. On Gaudete Sunday, however, we light a pink or rose-coloured candle instead! It is as if the Church, in her wisdom, recognises the heavy burden of our penitence and decides to lighten the mood. She says to us, cheer up, pull yourselves together! A time of joy and comfort is on the way! And she gives us a rose-coloured candle to light as a sign assuring us of that.
These are the themes we will be exploring as we consider our Scripture readings this Sunday (Isaiah 35:1-10 and Matthew 11:2-6). So, look and see the signs: the time of waiting will soon be over! Our God is coming to lead us home, and we shall see his glory. Come and join us as we rejoice.
Matthew Briggs, Ministry Team