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Reflection
Today is Gaudete Sunday, ”Rejoice
Sunday." Right in the middle of Advent's waiting, the Church says: Stop.
Light the rose candle. Put on rose vestments. Rejoice. Why? Because the Lord is
near. But look at what we're rejoicing over. Isaiah paints an impossible
picture: deserts blooming, parched lands bursting with flowers, the lame
leaping like deer, the mute singing for joy. "Strengthen the hands that
are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are
frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God." This isn't wishful
thinking. This is prophecy becoming reality. Matthew shows us John in prison
asking Jesus, "Are you the one, or should we look for another?" Jesus
answers with Isaiah's list: "The blind regain their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the
good news proclaimed to them." Isaiah's impossible promise is happening.
Right now. Through Jesus. The desert IS blooming. The broken ARE being healed.
God HAS come. And James ties it together: "Be patient, brothers and
sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth." We wait, yes. But we wait with joy because
we've already seen the signs. The Kingdom is breaking in.
Here's what connects all three
readings: patient joy in the midst of waiting. Isaiah promises restoration but
doesn't say when. James tells us to be patient like the farmer who can't rush
the harvest. And John, sitting in Herod's prison, knowing he'll likely die
there, sends his disciples to ask if Jesus is really the One. John's not
doubting Jesus' identity; he's wrestling with Jesus' timing and methods.
"If You're the Messiah, why am I still in prison? Why hasn't the Kingdom
come with power and judgment like I preached?" Jesus doesn't rebuke John.
He points to the fruit: look what's happening. The signs are here. The Kingdom
is near. Just not the way anyone expected. That's the Advent tension we live in,
already but not yet. The blind see, but injustice remains. The dead rise, but
people still die. The Kingdom has come, but we're still waiting for its
fullness. And somehow, in that tension, we're called to rejoice. Not fake
happiness. Not pretending everything's fine. But deep, grounded joy that says:
God has come, God is coming, and that changes everything.
The farmer James mentions doesn't sit
around miserable, staring at bare ground. He plants. He tends. He watches the
early and late rains. He knows the harvest is coming because he's already seen
the green shoots breaking through the soil. That's us in Advent. We've seen
enough to know the harvest is certain. Jesus came. He healed. He died. He rose.
The Kingdom broke into history, and nothing's been the same since. So, we wait
with joy, not because waiting is easy but because we know what's coming.
Isaiah's promises aren't just future hope; they are a present reality still
unfolding. Every healing is a flower blooming in the desert. Every act of mercy
is the lame leaping. Every proclamation of the Gospel is the mute singing.
Every resurrection from sin is the dead rising. The signs are everywhere for those
who have eyes to see. John saw them from prison, and that had to be enough.
Sometimes it has to be enough for us, too.
Franciscan
Reflection
Francis lived in this "already
but not yet" tension every day. He'd experienced profound healing, spiritual,
emotional, and physical, yet he lived with stigmata wounds that never healed, with
illness that wracked his body, with betrayal from brothers he loved. He could
have been bitter. Instead, he composed the Canticle of the Sun, praising God
for Brother Sun and Sister Moon even while nearly blind and in terrible pain.
Francis understood Gaudete joy, not happiness dependent on circumstances, but
joy rooted in knowing God is faithful. He saw the green shoots. He tended them.
He waited for the full harvest with patience and song. When have you
experienced joy in the midst of waiting or suffering? What green shoots is God
showing you today that promise a coming harvest?
For
Your Reflection
These
questions will meet you where you are. They'll push, comfort, and
challenge you. Answer them honestly and in private. Let them
About Isaiah's Impossible Promise:
- What desert in your life needs to bloom? What
parched land needs water?
- Where are your hands feeble and your knees weak?
Can you hear God saying, "Be strong, fear not"?
- Isaiah promises the ransomed will return with
singing and everlasting joy. What are you waiting to be ransomed from?
About John's Question:
- When have you asked God, "Are You really the
One, or should I look for another?" What prompted that?
- John was in prison when he asked. What prison
(literal or figurative) makes you question God's timing or methods?
- Jesus pointed John to the signs. What signs of the
Kingdom breaking in can you see in your life right now?
About James' Patient Farmer:
- The farmer doesn't rush the harvest. Where are you
trying to force something?
- What "early rains" (initial signs) have
you seen that promise a coming harvest?
- How can you strengthen your heart (as James says)
while you wait?
About Rejoicing While Waiting:
- What's the difference between happiness (dependent
on circumstances) and joy (rooted in God's faithfulness)?
- Where is God asking you to rejoice today, even
though the waiting isn't over?
- What would it look like to be patient AND joyful
at the same time?
Praying
the Glorious Mysteries
As you pray the rosary today, see the
fulfillment of Isaiah's promises:
The Resurrection - The ultimate sign. Death defeated. The desert blooms.
The impossible becomes real.
The Ascension - Jesus prepares a place. The harvest is certain. We wait
with confidence.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit - God's presence floods the earth. The Kingdom comes with
power. The mute sing in tongues.
The Assumption - Mary, the first to fully receive the harvest. Body and
soul risen.
The Coronation - The Kingdom in fullness. Every promise fulfilled.
Everlasting joy. No more sorrow or mourning.
The Glorious Mysteries are our
"already" what Jesus has accomplished. And our "not yet” is what
we're still waiting to experience fully. Gaudete Sunday says: celebrate what's
already here while you wait for what's still coming.
A
Quiet Challenge
This week, practice "farmer
joy." Every day, look for one green shoot, one sign that God's Kingdom is
breaking in. Maybe it's a reconciled relationship. Maybe it's unexpected peace
in a hard situation. Maybe it's someone experiencing healing or freedom or
hope.
Write it down. At the end of the week,
you'll have seven reasons to rejoice, seven signs that the harvest is coming.
And when you're tempted to despair
because the waiting is hard or the signs seem small, remember: the farmer
doesn't see the full harvest when the first shoots appear. But those shoots are
enough to keep him tending, watching, waiting with joy.
The Kingdom is near. Rejoice.
Closing
Pray this with patient joy:
"Lord Jesus, You are the One
we've been waiting for. Isaiah's promises are fulfilled in You; the blind see,
the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor hear good news. Thank You
for the signs. Thank You that the harvest is
certain even when I can't see it yet. Strengthen my feeble hands and weak
knees. Speak to my frightened heart: Be strong, fear not. Give me farmer joy: patient,
grounded, confident that what You've begun You will complete. Help me rejoice
in the 'already' while I wait for the 'not yet.' The Kingdom has come. The
Kingdom is coming. And that is enough reason to sing. In Jesus' Name,
Amen."
Then ask:
- What desert in my life is God ready to make bloom?
- What signs of the Kingdom am I missing because I'm
focused on what hasn't happened yet?
- Can I rejoice today, even in the middle of
waiting?
Gaudete. Rejoice. The Lord is near.
Not someday. Not eventually. Near. Now. Look for the signs. Tend the green
shoots. Wait with joy.
The farmer knows: the harvest is
coming.
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete
Sunday)
December 14, 2025
A Franciscan Reflection
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
