The third week of Advent has traditionally been known as “Gaudete Sunday” – which is Latin for “rejoice.” In the medieval church, this was a day to take a break from what had become a heavily penitential season. These days, our Advent focus is less on penitence and more on preparation and patience as we await the coming of Christ. Either way, the emphasis on joy provides a noteworthy contrast, and strikes me with particular force this year as we live daily with rising COVID numbers, fewer opportunities for social connection, ongoing injustice, and economic uncertainty. How do we find a heart for joy the midst of all this?

Every year, on the Second Sunday of Advent, we hear from that most vocal of Advent characters, John the Baptist, who cries out from the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord….”

When I was a young mother, seated in my church pew beside my three fidgety sons, I never managed to listen much beyond those words of John the Baptist.

It used to come as a jarring surprise to me: that a season commonly perceived to be about joy and peace always begins with the end of the world. Every year, on the first Sunday of Advent, the lectionary gives the “Little Apocalypse”, the name often given to Jesus’ discourse on the Mount of Olives, where he describes to his listeners the events that will take place as he returns.

This time around, as Advent approaches, Jesus’ apocalyptic talk comes not so much as a surprise as it does something that feels right on target.

This Sunday we celebrate “Christ the King Sunday,” a feast day instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in the midst of rising secularism, nationalism, and consumerism. In the face of all these “isms”, the Pope wanted the people of the church to remember the One who was ultimately in charge of it all.

This coming Sunday, the lay and clerical delegates of the 180 parishes in the Diocese of Virginia will gather online for our 226th Annual Convention.  The timing of this gathering has particular resonance for me this year, as I reflect upon last week’s election and the democratic process that lies at the heart of our national life. 

This Sunday we will celebrate All Saints’ Day, a time to honor the people of God who have gone before us, who walk alongside us now, and who we will welcome into the household of God through the waters of baptism. It is also the day that we typically hold our annual “St. John’s Celebration” – a festive occasion to recognize the blessings of our community, feast on great food, welcome newcomers and conclude our fall stewardship campaign.

If you grew up in the Episcopal Church with the 1928 Prayer book or our older, Rite I liturgy, you will remember that our Sunday Eucharist always began with the words that we hear in our Gospel passage for this week:

“Here is what the Lord Jesus saith: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

In this week’s gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a King who prepares a lavish wedding banquet for his son but faces challenges with the guest list. The first people he invites are too busy or lazy to respond, and so he needs to revise his list to include people he never would have considered…people on the streets, good, bad and everything in between.

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis, the 12th century Italian friar who was known for his love of the natural world and dedication to peaceful relationships between all of God’s creatures – humans, animals, and plants, “Brother Sun, Sister moon, wind and water.” So, I think it is fitting that for the third week in a row, our gospel reading offers us a parable about a vineyard.

During this week that we give thanks for the life of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who dedicated her life tirelessly to promote equal rights and equal opportunity for all people, I offer this prayer by Steve Garnass Holmes. I hope that it comes as a blessing to you in a time so dearly in need of God’s justice, mercy and love.

Dear Friends:

In the Gospel lesson appointed for this Sunday, Jesus leaves us with a story about the laborers who are hired by a landowner to work in his vineyard, some for the full day, some for part of the day, some for the last hour. All are glad for the work, but when evening comes, they all receive the same pay.