Bob Jensen

Catholic Christians traditionally call this “Gaudete Sunday” (Latin gaudere, “to rejoice,” from the Entrance Antiphon) to stress the joy of anticipating the Lord’s coming.  Today’s texts express the joy of the watcher who heralds the dawn while standing between darkness and light.

John is a dour man in a camel-hair tunic who eats a ghastly diet foraged from the wilderness.  But a distinct joy infuses the New Testament texts about him, springing from his privileged position as forerunner and friend of Jesus.  His mother Elizabeth hears the greeting of Mary and says, “The child in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).  In the fourth Gospel account, John came “to testify to the light” (John 1:7), saw Christ’s glory, “full of grace and truth,” and cried out in witness to his majesty (1:14).  Later, when Jesus first came to him, John exclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God” (1:29).  He then surrendered his disciples to Jesus and described his joy with a vivid metaphor:  “The best man rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.  So this joy of mine has been made complete.  He must increase; but I must decrease” (3:29-30).  This is the joy in the Isaiah text applied to John today, all the more striking for the contrast between the prophet’s “garments of salvation” and John’s rough clothing.

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians strongly anticipates the Lord’s coming, while also reminding readers to “rejoice always” (5:16).  How would you describe the character of joy in a time of waiting?

 

It never takes long in the season of Advent for our patron John the Baptist to make an entrance.  He is the precursor, the one who comes to prepare the way for the one who is to follow.  Unlike those Jesus chooses to be his disciples, John embodies the characteristics of a true disciple.  It is clear from Mark’s Gospel that his effort to herald the coming of God’s kingdom and the need for the people to respond with a complete change of life was very successful.  Mark tells us that people from the whole countryside and those from the city of Jerusalem were going out to hear John and being baptized by him as they acknowledged their sins.  The disciple’s call is to attract people to embrace conversion.  John is an undeniable success, but remains humble in his ministry.  Every Christian is to embody the selfless outlook of John the Baptist, one who is willing to decrease so that the Lord himself may increase.

During every Mass, immediately after the Our Father, the priest says a short prayer known as the embolism: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

This prayer is particularly meaning full during Advent, the season when we consciously “await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ” with joyful expectation.. This kind of waiting is often difficult, as joy and expectation do not generally characterize our everyday experiences of waiting. Few of us are filled with hope as we sit in a traffic jam, stand at a bust stop, or wait for the pandemic to ease. We shop online and are willing to pay for guaranteed two-day (or overnight) delivery. We assume that Wi-Fi access will be fast and omnipresent-and we grow less patient when we have to wait for websites, audio or video to load. Amid these everyday experiences, the Advent liturgies play a crucial role in teaching and reminding us how we ought to wait with joyful expectation.

May this Advent season, different as it is, help us prepare for the Lord’s coming, both at Christmas and at the end of time. We do not wail alone. We have each other. May we grow in our capacity to receive all that our new born Savior has to offer.

Thanksgiving Day celebrations are going to be very different this year for many families, mine included. When I was invited to be a part of a zoom meeting I politely declined. I felt that it would trigger more of a feeling of isolation knowing that I could not join another household for a dinner that would ensue. Then my nephew Scott called. He would come up from Bonney Lake that afternoon, join me for the zoom meeting and bring some food. I only would need to bring the dinner rolls. That generous offer changed my disposition. True thankfulness ensued. Yes, there would be masks & social distancing but there would also be some semblance of family. My prayer is that we make the most of this holiday season. It will be different. However there still is much to be thankful for, namely family, friends, our faith, and especially God’s love and care for us. I am thankful for all of you. Your words of encouragement mean a great deal to me. Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving Day mass will be at 10 am Thursday. You are invited to bring food for your table to be blessed as well as food for our local food bank

As I write this column I am enjoying my first weekend off in a year. I’m not sure if I am bragging or complaining. I have enjoyed reading the latest David Baldacci novel, the latest collection of short stories by Stephen King, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. A few hours earlier I learned of the results of our presidential election. My prayer is that genuine healing takes place in our country in the weeks and months ahead. I take hope from the words of our president-elect when he says that he wants to be president not only of the blue states but of the United States. There has been too much judgment, too much finger pointing. May genuine peace break forth.

I have reflected a lot on my deceased loved ones during this month of All Souls. I remember an episode when my mother asked me to pick up a cheeseburger for her when I went to Kidd Valley at Coulon Park in Renton. For some selfish reason I didn’t. That was one of my first recollections when she died in 1999. I relived the guilt. And yet because she is among the communion of saints she is still alive and is linked to me in such a way that I can continue to talk to her, that my relationship with her can continue to grow, and that reconciliation over an undelivered burger can occur. Yes, our deceased loved ones are still with us. Death washes some things clean. This is not the stuff of fantasy, but of solid dogma. We know its truth because we experience it.

This weekend we welcome our founding pastor Fr. Jack Walmesley who will preside at all three masses and hear confessions on Saturday. May our gracious God bless him in every way.