GAUDETE IN THE MIDST OF MARTYRS: A HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

 

Blessed Sunday of Rejoicing in the Midst of the Advent Fast!

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

Introduction

Beloved in Christ, on this Gaudete Sunday, the Church processes into the world crying “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!” We burst forth like rose blossoms in the wilderness, echoing the words of St. Paul to the Philippians in his encouragement of a triumphant and joyful faith. Even as Advent prepares our hearts with repentance and penitence, today we pause for a moment to taste the honied sweetness of joy - joy not rooted in the fleeting comforts of this world, but in the steadfast promise of Christ’s Nativity and Second Coming!

Scripture

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

St. Matthew 11:2-10

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Sermon

The Scriptures appointed for today proclaims the glory of the promises of God. The prophet Isaiah envisions a barren desert bursting into bloom, the lame leaping like stags, and the tongues of the dumb singing for joy. Such imagery is not just poetic prose - it is prophetic, offering us a foretaste of the redemption wrought by Christ’s incarnation and the final restoration of all things. As C.S. Lewis so memorably put it, “At the birth of Christ, the ox and the ass joined in, for the One who was their Maker had become their Brother.” Advent calls us to lift our eyes from the present desert of our current apocalyptic day and to see the brilliant blooming of the cosmos breaking forth in Christ for all ages of ages.

The saints we commemorate today - Sts. Lucy of Syracuse, Victoria of Palermo, and Herman of Alaska - stand as luminous witnesses to this Advent hope. Each of their lives speaks to the reality that true joy is found not in escaping suffering, but in enduring it for the sake of Christ.

St. Lucy’s Life

Born in the late 3rd century in Syracuse, Sicily, St. Lucy was a young Christian of noble birth whose name, derived from "lux", or "light", has forever associated her with the illuminating grace of God. Betrothed against her will to a pagan suitor, Lucy refused the marriage, consecrating her virginity to Christ. Filled with divine boldness, she distributed her dowry to the poor, provoking the wrath of her suitor, who betrayed her to the Roman authorities during the fierce persecution under Emperor Diocletian.

Lucy endured imprisonment, torture, and miraculous deliverance, her faith unyielding despite her captors' brutal attempts to break her spirit. The most famous tradition of her martyrdom recounts that her eyes were plucked out, but they were miraculously restored, symbolizing her spiritual vision fixed on Christ. For this reason, she is venerated as the patron saint of the blind and those who suffer from afflictions of sight.

Ancient Latin Icon of St. Lucy in the Byzantine Style, Following the Convention of Blue Garment on the Inside, Representing Humanity, and Red Mantle on the Outside, Representing God’s Overshadowing Grace in Martyrdom

St. Lucy as a Handmaid to the Holy Theotokos, Along with St. Katherine of Egypt and St. Cecelia 

The Apotheosis of St. Lucy, Taken Up to Heaven by the Angels After Her Martyrdom

Traditional Danish and Swedish Custom of Caroling in the St. Lucy Candle Crown

Happy Christmas, "Good Yuletide!"

St. Lucy is the Archetype of Purity and Christian Beauty that used to be Primary Feminine Characteristics in Western Christian Culture

In Scandinavia and in our British Patrimony, St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated with great festivity on December 13th, featuring processions of young girls in white robes and wreaths of candles upon their heads, a living image of the Light of Christ dispelling the darkness. This tradition, though far removed from the martyr's bloody sacrifice, reminds us that Lucy’s light shines not because of her suffering but because of her joyful hope in Christ, who is the true Light of the World.

St. Lucy's steadfast refusal to abandon Christ in the face of torture is a living embodiment of Isaiah’s call to “strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees.” Her martyrdom was not a defeat, but a victory, for it bore witness to the Light of the World that the darkness can never overcome.

The Rejoicing of the Martyrs

Likewise, St. Victoria of Palermo shone with the radiance of Christ’s love. In her service to the poor and her unwavering confession of faith, even unto death, she exemplifies the words of the Gradual: "Show thyself, O Lord… stir up thy strength and come." These martyrs teach us that Advent joy is not passive, but active-rooted in a life wholly surrendered to the will of God.

And then, far to the north, we find St. Herman of Alaska, a missionary to the indigenous peoples of Kodiak Island, who lived centuries later yet bore the same light. Amid the bitter cold and isolation, he labored with love and humility, embodying the peace that Isaiah foretold—a peace that transforms deserts into streams and makes saints of the meek and lowly.

The Common Vision

What unites these saints, and indeed all saints, is their unshakable conviction that Christ is coming—not merely in the sense of His first advent in Bethlehem, but in His glorious return to judge the quick and the dead. G.K. Chesterton observed that "Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave." The saints lived this resurrection hope, enduring trials and persecutions with the assurance that their Redeemer lives and that He will make all things new.

This hope is the golden thread that weaves through today’s readings. John the Baptist, languishing in Herod’s prison, sends his disciples to ask Jesus, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Jesus does not answer with argument, but with evidence: "Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." These signs are not just miracles - they are harbingers of the kingdom of God breaking into the world.

T.S. Eliot, in his "Advent Crown," picturing the crown of St. Lucy and the beauty that our celebration reflected today, captures the paradoxes of this joyful season penitence:

The time of the tension between dying and birth,

The place of solitude where three dreams cross,

Between blue rocks and the dry plain,

Waiting for the rain.

The Dynamic Tension of Our Lives

We live in this tension, this waiting, knowing that Christ has come and yet still longing for Him to come again. Gaudete Sunday bids us to rejoice even in the waiting, for we know that He who has promised is faithful.

As we approach the mystery of Christmas, let us prepare our hearts as John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord. Let us, like Lucy and Victoria, stand firm in the face of trials, knowing that our joy is in the Lord. Let us, like Herman, labor in love, bringing light to the darkest corners of the earth. And let us, like Isaiah, lift our voices in hope, proclaiming that the wilderness will blossom, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return with everlasting joy.

Let us be strengthened yet again by the words of T.S. Eliot’s "Choruses from 'The Rock'":

The Church must be forever building, and always decaying, and always being restored. For every generation welcomes Christ anew, and every generation must prepare the way for His coming.

Beloved, may we, like the saints of old, prepare the way with the joy that no earthly darkness can extinguish. Rejoice, beloved, for Love is coming - and indeed, He is already here.

Let us pray...

Collect

O Almighty God, who dost inspire in thy saints the light of faith and the fire of love, and didst adorn thy handmaid Lucy with steadfast courage and purity of heart: Grant, we beseech thee, that, as she shone forth thy light amid the darkness of this world, we may also, being illumined by thy grace, rejoice in thy presence and walk as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.