From Judgment to Joy

Today is Gaudete Sunday, the joyous mid-point in our Advent journey into the Eschaton and into the Mystery of the Incarnation at Christmas! We celebrate it with the loud hymn that we sang in processional - "Gaudete, Gaudete, Jesus Christus es natus ex Maria virgine! Gaudete!" This morning's readings are also special, because they focus on an important element of our Christian life, as we commemorate this Sunday of Rejoicing. How can we find our way back to joy? How can we journey through fasting, prayer, reflection and darkness, into God's glorious light?
Our Scriptures readings speak to the core of who we are as people. They place us in the context of comparison, competition, and judgment. They show us that we are afraid, that we compare ourselves with others to justify ourselves, and that the solution to this fear of knowing and being known is radical repentance and submission to God as our lover and creator. Christ has a plan for our perfection, our “Telos,” our finished product. But we can’t get there by pretending to be perfect or hiding who we are in order to impress others.
As Metropolitan Anthony Bloom said, “God can save the sinner you are, not the saint you pretend to be.”