Rose in the Desert: Gaudete Sunday (3rd Sunday) 

 A Rose in the Desert 

A rose in the desert – that’s the image that comes to my mind this 3rd Sunday of Advent. Or maybe not so much a rose as simply rose in the desert. “Rose” is the formal name for today’s liturgical color. You didn’t think it was “pink,” did you? Rose vestments, and a rose colored candle along with the three purple on the advent wreath. The color represents joy, in keeping with today’s entrance antiphon:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near. (Philippians 4:4-5)

This antiphon gives us the name Gaudete Sunday for the 3rd Sunday of Advent because Gaudete, “Rejoice!”, is the first word of the antiphon in Latin:

Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete; Dominus prope est.

So, there’s the rose. If you’re looking for the desert, just take a look at the readings for today’s mass. The first reading, from Book of Isaiah, begins with:

The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song. (Isaiah 35: 1-2)

 He Will Prepare Your Way 

The Gospel reading from Matthew likewise begins with a sort of desert. That is, a barren prison cell, in which John the Baptist is languishing. The reading begins:

When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”

Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
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.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)

Look what happens next:

As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out to the desert to see?
. . . To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you. (Matthew 11:7; 9)

Out in the desert waste, John is a lonely sign of the Glory to come. He’s a reminder that the desert is not all there is. He’s like a lonely rose blooming in the desert, or like that lone pink, I mean, rose colored candle on the wreath.

 A Small Sign 

I like to think that the great liturgical feasts such as Christmas work in a similar way for us. It’s so easy to see the desert in our own lives. Every day we run up against the brokenness of our world, the failure of our plans, dysfunction in our families and, perhaps most discouraging of all, stubborn sin in our own hearts.

And in spite of all that, at this time of year the Church and its ancient tradition call out to us: “Rejoice! The Lord is near!” The Lord is near. He’s the one who will make the desert bloom with abundant flowers. But maybe we, through our rejoicing, can be a small sign of hope to a despairing world. Like a rose in desert.

(3rd Sunday of Advent Cycle A)

Gaudete, Christus est Natus!