Patiently Rejoicing
“You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.”James 5:8
“Patience is a virtue” is something I’ve heard throughout my childhood and adolescence, and now it has become one of my own sayings! On the third Sunday of Advent, the Church reminds us to rejoice as we hear in the entrance antiphon and the first reading from Isaiah. We call the third Sunday of Advent Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word meaning “rejoice.” Why do we rejoice? The Lord is coming! God comes to meet us, and for that we rejoice. In theology we often speak of the coming of God’s Kingdom as “already, not yet,” because yes the Kingdom, who is Jesus Himself has come to earth and has conquered sin and death, but that fullness in space and time will not be realized until He comes again. Yes, the battle has been won, but we here on earth must still keep fighting and turning back to God. So, we rejoice indeed, and we must do so patiently.
When John the Baptist was imprisoned, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He indeed was the One they’ve been waiting for or should they keep looking. Jesus told them to tell John all that they’ve been witnessing — the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame walking, and the poor hearing the Good News. In other words, look at the signs of the times. Look around you and see and believe. Later, Jesus clarified John’s identity and his role in salvation history — he is the messenger who has been sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. So, brothers and sisters, what are the signs of our times? What do we see? Do we see Christ in the midst of those signs? It might be difficult at first. The violence. Wars. Injustice. Poverty. Sickness. Death. But our faith tells us that God is in all of it. God’s Providence is there. Can we see it with the eyes of faith? We must learn to truly see and hear as Christ has taught us to, with His eyes and ears. It cannot be rushed for we must do so patiently.
So when the Sisters and my teachers used to remind me daily, “patience is a virtue,” what they were trying to tell me was not simply to stop rushing and take my time but to see things as God sees them, to know and trust that God is in control and I need only cooperate with His grace, and His will indeed will be done. We must be patient in building up the Kingdom by doing our part, living out the call to which God has called us, and to do so with joy and patience, joy because God is with us and patience because He will make all things new and bring good out of all situations.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, as we continue with our Advent journey and move closer to Christmas may we rejoice because God has so loved us and may we be patient because He has so much in store for us!
