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THE LORD'S PRAYER
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SERMON
- THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
(GAUDETE SUNDAY)
Intent: Love
Introduction
Today is the third Sunday
in the season of Advent, which is the period of
weeks that immediately precedes Christmas. It is
also known as "Gaudete Sunday". This is a strange
word, but all it means is "rejoice". What
it comes from is the first word of the psalm used
in the early church as the special Introit for the
day. We have a fixed Introit in our service; however,
it is varied for the Requiem Eucharist.
The Introit was the
section of the service that the celebrant sang as
he entered the church building and processed to
the altar. The word Introit is itself a reference
to the opening words of that section and comes from
'introibo' meaning 'to enter'. It comes from
the famous Introit "I will go unto the altar
of God, even unto God who giveth joy to my youth"
- which we also use in the Longer Form of the service.
And so what we have
is a reference to the old Introit section of the
eucharist; the word Gaudete refers to the
words used on this day in the ancient church and
means 'rejoice'. The word used for the middle period
of Lent, Laetare Sunday, has a similar meaning,
and can be translated as 'rejoice'. This too comes
from the opening words of the Introit for "Mid-Lent
Sunday", which is 'Rejoice, ye with Jerusalem'
(Is. 66:10).
The other difference
in today's observance is that we wear the rose coloured
vestments, and these are worn on only two days in
the year - in the middle of Advent and in the middle
of Lent. This colour is, as you can see, a subtle
variation of the red and is, I understand, a combination
of red and gold. This subtle and gentle hue of the
vestments is most appropriate for the Intent of
today, which is Love. Today, being the mid-point
of the season of Advent, was the time when the rigours
of the penitential season - fasting etc., were relaxed.
I think that is sufficient
for the moment as background to the names and terms
we use today.
Epistle (Cor. 12:12ff)
The Epistle reading
is an extract from Paul's letter to the Corinthians
(ch. 12:12ff). This is one of his famous statements,
in this case about all of us belonging to the one
spiritual body as a faith-community. And as he is
more often than not speaking to converts who are
not Jews, he is also reassuring them that, in the
eyes of God, there is no difference between Jew
and Gentile. He is also reminding them that, when
one member suffers, all suffer, when one member
triumphs, all rejoice in his success. And this unity
is possible because we are all members of 'the body
of Christ'.
Paul's comments do not
appear as dramatic to us today as they would have
been to those to whom he was writing. Yet, there
is a particular relevance for today, quite an important
one, if we consider what is happening in the world
around us. It would seem that, as far as our immigration
policy about asylum seekers is concerned, we are
not the same. One of the scourges of the
past hundred years has been the examples of 'ethnic
cleansing' which have taken place in different parts
of the world. (Of course, this is nothing knew,
but I think we are all especially scandalised to
see examples of it so recently and some so close
to home.) It would suggest the humanity has not
made much progress during the past millennium or
two.
Paul also tells them
that there is to be no schism in the church. Unfortunately,
schism was present right from the beginning of the
Christian Church. There was, for example, a strong
difference in teaching and practice between the
church in Jerusalem, led by James the brother of
Jesus, who followed very traditional Jewish ways,
and that of the communities which Paul founded,
and which allowed in non-Jews and did not observe
Jewish customs.
Gospel (John 3:3ff)
In the gospel reading
for today, we have the very moving occasion of our
Lord washing the feet of his disciples. Jesus gives
them an example of how the Master should behave
towards the brethren, and how the brethren should
behave towards each other. What he is showing by
his actions and reinforcing by his words, is that
we should serve each other. He then goes on to say
that whoever receives him (as Lord), receives also
God the Father. He makes it very clear that he was
sent by God the Father.
This gospel reading
complements that taken from Paul's letter to the
Corinthians in which he focuses on the unity that
should exist among the members of the community.
We are all one, and we need to act accordingly.
We then have, as its
concluding words, our Lord's commandment to them
to love each other as he loved them. His act of
washing their feet was obviously meant to reinforce
this teaching. He also says that the world will
know that they are his disciples by their deeds
and in the way they love each other. The Intent
for this week is Love, and this reading is
perfect for highlighting this central teaching given
by our Lord.
The scene in which this takes
place is really part of the Last Supper. When the
supper is finished, Jesus then offers some farewell
admonitions and promises. Part of this discourse
we have heard today. He warns them that he is going
away and that they cannot go with him. After he
has gone they must love one another as he has loved
them. That is how people will know that they are
truly his disciples. He predicts, moreover, that
on this very night they would all lose faith in
him. Peter protests that even if all others lose
faith in the Master, he never would. To this Jesus
replies that before the cock should crow in the
very early morning, Peter would have disowned Jesus
three times. And that is precisely what happens!
All four gospels have
some report on this period just prior to our Lord's
arrest, and it is important to read them all, so
that the extract we heard today is placed in its
correct sequence. However, today's selection was
made on the basis of the principal teaching contained
in this section, that they must love each other,
especially as he will soon be leaving them. They
will then have to rely on each other and the bond
that connects them.
There is also something
else which is conveyed when our Lord lays down his
clothes to wash the disciples' feet. Ravi Ravindra
says in his commentary on the Fourth Gospel, "the
external garments are always a symbol of an outer
layer of personality covering the inner being. This
inner being needs to be uncovered and acknowledged
as it is; only then the right transformation of
it can take place. According to the Gospel of Thomas
(II, 2:37), his disciples asked Jesus: 'When will
you become revealed to us and when shall we see
you?' He said. 'When you disrobe without being ashamed
and take up your garments and place them under your
feet like little children and tread on them, then
will you see the Son of the Living One, and you
will not be afraid.' Only he who has taken his own
covering off can help others to look into themselves
deeply without being afraid." (pp 154-5)
These admonitions and
his action of washing their feet take place immediately
after the Last Supper. Can you imagine the atmosphere
in that room? Can you imagine the lack of comprehension
of the disciples when Jesus said of the bread and
wine: "This is my Body; this is my Blood"?
And while they are taking this in and trying to
work out what it means, Jesus makes certain other
comments and Judas gets up and leaves the room.
More confusion! Jesus then puts a towel around his
waist and proceeds to wash the feet of his disciples.
This act of great humility also amazes the disciples
- their Lord and Master acting as a servant! It's
almost too much for them to take in, let alone accept.
Then come the admonitions and promises, the foretelling
of times of trial and tribulation, betrayal and
loss.
I suppose these other
aspects of the chapter of John to which I have referred
should not distract us from the core teaching of
the snippet used for today, and which says that
we are to love one another. But we need to know
these things as they are background to today's reading.
In the context of Advent and the celebration of
Christmas which follows it, we can also appreciate
its significance and relevance in that the story
of Christmas is concerned very much with a loving
act of God the Father to his children - us. Whatever
theological interpretation you wish to place on
this great event, and our church explores more than
one, we would accept as our core teaching that God
is Love, that Jesus of Nazareth is the personification
of Love, that the birth of the Christ-child in Bethlehem
was an act of love. And what I have found so significant
from my studies of the various religions of the
world, is that that act of love which is
central to the Christian religion, as well as the
sacrifice and loving act on the cross, is indeed
unique to our religion.
The Incarnation of the
Logos, the Second Aspect of the Godhead, the Birth
of the Christ in Bethlehem as Jesus of Nazareth,
all of this is still a mystery to us. Yes, there
are some reflections on these mysteries in the gospels
and especially in Paul's letters, and they are a
great help. But they do not give us a full explanation
of the mystery; they do not show us Jesus in his
fullness, they do not show us the Christ of the
Godhead. In one sense they are only words. However,
like a poet or story teller, that is the best they
had to hand to convey the mystery and some explanation
of it. The rest is up to us, to explore, to pray
and meditate on the mysteries of our faith, and
to experience the abiding presence of the Spirit
of God within ourselves and in the world
around us.
It is the teaching of the Christian
Church that Jesus the Christ is not only a teacher
of the past, but also a teacher and healer in the
present. He is a spiritual presence today, and his
acts of love are continuous and eternal; they are
not bound by our sense of time. For example, there
are many places in our service today (the Holy Eucharist)
in which we refer to and express our joy of being
in the the presence of God's love in Christ. For
example, the following words are said on your behalf:
"As thou, O Son of God, who showest thyself
this day upon a thousand altars and yet art one
and indivisible.". Christ's presence is timeless,
universal and all-encompassing.
Christ's love is without
limit, and we are here today to 'tap in' to that
love. In the eucharist service in another church
they say "we are many, but one body."
Our Lord is saying this in our gospel reading, and
Paul is saying something similar in his letter.
All aspects of time and space, spirit and matter,
of our individual work and our collective work,
come together in this mystery of the eucharist,
where the many become one. So mote it be.
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