Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say, rejoice!

Its the first word in this phrase that gives Gaudete Sunday its name. The phrase is sungrarely these daysas the entrance antiphon for the Third Sunday of Advent.

For a long time, I absorbed the standard catechetical line about this day being one of eager anticipation for Christmas, sort of a break in Advent, etc. None of it was wrong, but none of it really made an impression on me either.

Then I actually read Pauls letter to the Philippians. Turns out Paul wrote those words while he was in prison, waiting to find out whether he would be executed or not (Phil 1:19-25). Gives you a whole new perspective on the meaning of rejoice, doesnt it?

Today I spoke about this text to a small group of men at the county jail near our parish. None of them is going to be released before Christmas. I cant even imagine what it must be like to spend Christmas in jail.

But I suggested to them--cautiously--that going through an experience like this might put them in closer touch with the true meaning of Christmas, a meaning that many of us on the outside have forgotten. By true meaning, I dont mean what we usually mean when we speak about the true meaning of Christmas, which tends to be some vaguely Dickensian moralism about sharing what you have with others. Thats a good thing for us to do. But I dont think that is really what Christmas is all about.

Christmas is about finding hope in the deepest darkness youve ever felt. Thats what all three readings in todays lectionary are about. Its no accident that we celebrate Christmas in the midst of the darkest days of the year. Were a people waiting in darkness, hungering for a light. Were waiting for the Messiah, the Savior, Emmanuel, God-With-Us.

Theres a lot of darkness in our world right now. Some of that darkness seems very far away, and some of it lies within our very souls. But if were going to prepare for Christmas, we have to face that darkness squarely and not try to drown it in sea of tinsel and sparkling lights. We have to face up to the mess weve made of things. If were going to welcome the Savior properly, we need to recognize that we need Him. We shouldnt see His coming as a ratification of a course of events that would have turned out pretty well even if He hadnt shown up.

Its in the depths of this darkness, when we finally realize that wed be fools to trust in ourselves, that we can nevertheless find hope. Because we can trust in Him. And it is because of this that we can say:

Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again, I say, rejoice!