Skip to main content

Rejoicing



Many years ago, my Aunt Marion made me this key fob.  It's a bit battered and scuffed now from spending so long scraping up against my keys, but I still like it.  O gaudete! means Oh be joyful! in Latin, which is a nice reminder every time I unlock my front door.  (Pronunciation, by the way, is GOW-to-rhyme-with-cow-DEY-TEY or so I am given to understand, my Latin scholarship extending about as far as et cetera and anno domini.)

The point of all this being that today, in the church calendar, is Gaudete Sunday.  All over the world, churches will be lighting a rose-coloured Advent candle instead of the usual purple, and worshippers will be greeted with the words, "Rejoice in the Lord always!  Again I will say it, Rejoice!"

We are just over halfway through Advent, and the tone is starting to change.  After slogging through two weeks of words which are basically synonyms for preparing and expecting, I finally get to shift focus to words like imagining, proclaiming and experiencing.  Christmas is drawing closer; the fulfilment of the prophecies is near.  The discipline of sober preparation is starting to give way to the joyful remembrance of God's coming to Earth.  We are not only watching for Jesus' return; we are celebrating that he has come already and is with us always.  So today: Gaudete!  Be joyful!


Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
    break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted.
Isaiah 49:13
xx
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God is Not a White Man: Spiritual Formation Book 8

"I studied Theology... Despite the fact that most of the world's religious people are not white, we learnt very little about the theological thinking and experiences of Black and brown people." Chine McDonald is director of Theos, an organisation which provides research and opinion on the place of religion in society. She moved to the UK from Nigeria at the age of four. McDonald has been involved with the Evangelical Alliance, Christian Aid, and Greenbelt, as well as working as a journalist, so she has some wide-ranging experiences within the Christian and secular culture. This book uses stories from her own life, and historical examples, to illustrate the problem of racism in the church. She focuses on the British church in particular, although she refers to American events too. What are the main themes of this book? McDonald's argument is that white people - men in particular - have been assumed to be superior. They are regarded as more intelligent, more authoritati
Post a Comment
Read more

Springtime walks: Croxden Abbey and Shining Cliff Woods

It seems to be taking a long time to get properly warm, this spring. But suddenly there are flowers everywhere and the world has turned green. We had to go and see it all. Croxden Abbey 800 years ago, there was a community of 70 monks at Croxden Abbey, hidden away in a beautiful nook of Staffordshire. Now there are peaceful ruins, carpeted with soft green grass. It was hard to imagine the space filled with busy worship and work. Croxden abbey cloisters the west door of the church We had parked at the village of Hollington and walked down the hill, playing a game of spot-the-animal. In just a few short fields we had seen sheep, cattle, horses, alpacas, rabbits, a dog, and even a donkey. We decided we only needed pigs to make our farm animal collection complete! It wasn't a long hike - we probably spent just as long eating snacks and playing hide and seek in the abbey ruins, as we did walking. Our return journey took us past a few horses, but sadly no pigs. We followed an old Roman r
Post a Comment
Read more

National Forest Way: Rangemore to Rosliston

I covered Stages 10 and 9 of the National Forest Way in three Monday morning walks. We've had some beautiful weather lately, so it's been lovely to get out. Walk One I approached the first walk with some trepidation. The route took me through Tatenhill Woods, which has become known in our family as a place where anything could happen. The first time we went there, the paths were ankle-deep in mud; the second, we got caught in a summer thunderstorm and soaked to the skin! Fortunately this time the weather stayed calm and clear, and there wasn't as much mud as I expected. view towards Tatenhill Woods Heading out of Rangemore, the Way took me over rolling fields with views north to the cooling towers at Willington. The bluebells were out in full force, and lambs were bouncing across the grass. Having successfully navigated the woods, I stopped for a snack on Battlestead Hill, then dropped down to walk alongside quarry workings and streams.  view from Battlestead Hill If I'
Post a Comment
Read more