God rejoices over us
I noticed something new to me this year in our reading for this third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday.
The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.
We rejoice, of course. We rejoice because our God comes to us. We rejoice in the sights and smells and delights of this season. Our hearts rejoice as we see kindness abound. We delight in the delight of children as they anticipate and experience the joys of both giving and receiving generously. But it is not only the people of God who rejoice.
God rejoices.
I do not think it is difficult for us to understand why God would come to us with criticism and correction. I do not think it is difficult for us to see that we need to hear the types of warnings that John the Baptist brought to the people of God. We are selfish, and God desires that we are generous. We are dishonest, and God desires that we act and speak with integrity. We abuse power and authority, and God desires that we act justly. We complain, and God desires that we are thankful. We know that the world is full of evils, and in many ways we look forward to the day that the corrupt powers of this world will fall, and our Lord will return in glory to reign over every heart and over all the kingdoms of the earth.
But I think it is difficult for us to understand and believe that God rejoices in us.
Many of us face the temptation to focus on what is wrong, broken, sorrowful, and unjust in the world, our community, our families, and our own hearts. And there are many things that are wrong, broken, sorrowful, and unjust. Of course, we need to repent and turn to God our redeemer. Yes, certainly we know that were it not for the prayers of the church, the sacrifice of the mass, and the intercession of our Lady, evil would overwhelm the world. Sometimes we look at these things, and we are tempted to despair.
But God rejoices over us. God rejoices over us with gladness, renews us in love, and sings joyfully because of us.
The Lord our God is in our midst. In our heart, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In the sacrifice of the mass. In the tabernacle. On the altar. Emmanuel. God with us. We are not alone in anything we do. We are not alone in anything we experience. We are not alone in any sorrow, any suffering, or any joy. We have not been redeemed then left alone. We have been redeemed and have the presence of God with us always.
Despite all of our faults and failures, God rejoices over us. God does not see as we see. Or, rather, we do not see as God sees. We are not a failure in God’s eyes. God desires that we know ourselves the way that God knows us. God desires that we see ourselves the way that God sees us – beautifully made. God desires that we hear that we are beloved. We are not a mistake. We are not abandoned. We are loved and desired, and God rejoices over us.
We are the church. We are the bride of Christ. And Christ looks at us with eyes full of love, the way a bridegroom looks at his bride.
Oh, but I am a sinner.
Yes, and there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
We do not sneak into heaven. God does not grumble and let us into heaven because somehow Jesus Christ found a loophole. God welcomes us. Like the prodigal father welcoming his sorrowful and repentant son, God comes running to meet us. God sings over us, and leads all of heaven in rejoicing over us.
Therefore… be kind, be free of anxiety, be thankful.
Be kind as our heavenly father is kind.
Give generously to those in need.
Take from others only what is necessary.
Be content with what you have.
Be thankful for what you have received, for the evils God has brought you through, and for the evils from which God has spared you.
Guard your hearts and your minds. If there is anything true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy – think on those things.
The good news of the Gospel is not only that we are forgiven. It is not only that sin and sorrow are removed. It is also that God rejoices over us.
And God desires that we share in that rejoicing.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I say it again: rejoice!
