Today is Gaudete, i.e. “Rejoice Sunday.” Traditionally, we light the pink candle on the wreath.  

We do so after two weeks of soul-searching and responsible cooperation with God’s grace to free ourselves of our nagging flaws.   

We also fill ourselves with love and willingness to serve the Lord and our neighbor while awaiting the glorious revelation of the total Christ, i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ and his Body, the Church, as one. 

We also stop to take stock of the reasons why we should look forward with eagerness to the fulfilment of the Kingdom of perfect love. 

In this we take our cue from St. Paul: he is in prison, with chains on his wrists & ankles; he senses that his life is about to end. It is an indication that he is near the full revelation of Christ in his glory. Hence, he orders everyone: GAUDETE.   

It is an order given repeatedly to the people of Philippi and, even more forcefully, to us today:  REJOICE! 

In the 1st reading, the prophet Zepheniah goes even further.  He invites Jerusalem, i.e. all of us, as a Church, to shout for joy, and dance, and exult in the full view of people who might wonder why we do so. 

Materially speaking, we can think of some things that would make us rejoice to the point of looking silly. 

Yet, our joy would wear out quickly; new problems would surface, and we would find new reasons to feel downcast and sad. 

However, now we are here to find out how true believers can dismiss all anxieties about a shameful, sinful past and of a frightening future and yet, be filled with intense spiritual joy. 

The prophet Zepheniah gives us the reason: The Lord has removed the judgment against Jerusalem and against St. Paul and every single one of us. 

He has also turned away our enemies: i.e. the ghosts of our shameful past; the ghosts of a lukewarm history of compromises and excuses in our relationship of tepid love for Jesus; the ghosts of fear about the uncertainty of the future and anything else of which we are not proud.  

Today, we take ownership of our past, without excuses, without covering up, without minimizing before God what we have done in our frailty. 

It is our past, like the past of Paul, the past of Jerusalem, the past of the crowds who went to hear John, the past of tax collectors, of soldiers; the past of repentant criminals: it cannot be changed.   

It is ours.  We own it.  And, in humility, we give it to God.  

We shall not forget that there is no condemnation: The Lord has removed the judgment against us.  So, rejoice, exult and shout for joy.   

Now, will the Lord have second thoughts?   No way.   

We gather every Sunday to double check on that.   

We gather to find additional evidence that our rejoicing should go on and on… 

There, on that Cross, is the proof that the judgment has been lifted—beforehand.  

Touched deeply by God’s words of forgiveness and reconciliation, spoken through John the Baptist, we rejoice, we are full of expectation of what God might offer us next; so, we ask: “What are we to do?”  

If you have two cloaks, or too much food, too much of any good thing, share; be honest and fair in all your transactions; avoid greed. 

It boils down to a choice between hearts attached to material possessions and hearts glad to share.  

We are not asked to do anything sensational or extraordinary. NO, we are simply expected to answer our original calling, while doing everything in our ordinary, daily life with dedication, accountability, integrity, fidelity, love. 

If we accept this simple suggestion, then we can discover the second reason for our rejoicing.   

God is in our midst.  God rejoices over us with gladness.  

As we age, we realize that sadness can come upon us for a variety of reasons. Yet, as genuine believers,  we should know that our sadness and worries ought to be mitigated by the awareness of the Lord’s closeness to us with his channels of grace (Sacraments), his Words of life, prayer taken in the broadest sense of the word and the support of our community of faith.  

John the Baptist compares this closeness of the Lord to a total immersion in the Holy Spirit and an exposure to his consuming fire (Luke 3:16). 

If we let him, the Holy Spirit will plunge us into a life of self-giving and joyful service.  And his fire will purify us of all our chaff of greed, selfishness, lukewarmness, and indifference.   

Eventually our rejoicing will become so solid in the awareness of our being children of the Father, that it will be guilt-free, anxiety-free and able to withstand many challenges.   

We will be confident in God’s grace to be able to learn how to love better, how to share, how to serve joyfully. 

And we will be given God’s peace to stand guard over our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus our Lord.