2350AFC121523 – What shall we say?
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Isaiah 61:10-11 –
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
Luke 1:46-48-a – 46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 – 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
John 1:19-23 – 19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”[a] 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as the prophet Isaiah said.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! I open with the following greeting with you specifically in mind:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 – 23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
25 Beloved, pray for us. ⇐ Now, Belovéd, why is that text a different color? SO glad you asked! In fact I REJOICE that you asked! Who remembers the Latin name of this coming Sunday in Advent? Yes! It is Gaudete Sunday. That word means Rejoice, and it is the first word of the Introit (Entrance Verse) at the very beginning of the Mass. In our Advent Wreaths, the “pink” candle will be lit. I put the work pin in quotes because the actual liturgical name for that is “Rose.”
A few paragraphs from now we will look at the different terms in the Bible that are translated as “Rejoice,” but first I ask you, “Who is rejoicing, and why?” What shall we say to that?
In the passage from Isaiah, he starts of by saying, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.” Remember that this remarkable collection of prophecies is handed down to us as poetry. In this passage, the Prophet has personified Jerusalem by speaking in the first-person-singular. If you follow the link above, look at the GNT version which says, “Jerusalem rejoices because of what the Lord has done.” Isaiah, numbered among the greatest Prophets in Israel’s history, wrote often about the military and political errors, corrections, the hope for liberation from oppressors, and the famous “Servant Songs” in chapters 40-48. Chapter 61 speaks of the Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings. He, Isaiah, has been anointed by the Lord to convey the extraordinary news to the suffering Nation that Zion – the Holy city of Jerusalem – will be restored (pray God it will be so again soon!). Isaiah is commissioned by the Lord to announce this news, and what he says does indeed gladden hearts and evoke rejoicing. That spirit of rejoicing is also found in the familiar “song” of Mary spoken when she visited her cousin, Elizabeth. See if you hear something like Isaiah’s words, then say them with her.
Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he 
has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. This is the beginning of the canticle often referred to as “The Magnificat.” Two definitions may be required here for some of our readers. What is a “canticle?” It is a song, like all the Psalms for example. “So, Chick, why isn’t it called a Psalm?” It is called a canticle because it is a song which is not included in the Book of Psalms in which all the song-poem named “Psalm” are recorded. There are canticles in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and 1 Samuel – the Song of the [Red] Sea, the Canticle of Moses, and the Canticle of Hannah respectively. You can find a nice list of Canticles in the Bible HERE. In this Canticle, Mary is not personifying herself as “Jerusalem” as in Isaiah; however, nonetheless, her Canticle echoes the words of Isaiah because in her fiat (unconditional yes), she embraced the possibility of Hope and Redemption for not only Zion, but also for the entire World. What she said was “Scriptural, Biblical, and Spirit-inspired.” It was like that aphorism, “God said it, I believe it, and I’m stickin’ to it!” “Magnificat” is the first word – in Latin – of Mary’s canticle. In this season of the Liturgy, we share our joy as we come together – around the world! – to Joyfully Adore (↔ Music Link) Jesus the Newborn King. (↔ Music Link)
The Key Verse from our Epistle for the 3rd Sunday in Advent is very similar to the passage that gives us the name Gaudete. The introit is based on Philippians 4:4 – 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. In this passage, the Greek word is Chairete which, as described above, is Gaudete in Latin. (Use that link to see more Bible passages like that.) Let’s pause here for a moment to reflect on what rejoicing is, and what it means for us. We can begin with several of the words found in Scripture which are usually translated as “rejoice.” You can find the list and a fuller exposition of the Gift of rejoicing in 1650AFC120916 – Rejoice already! Here is the improved list list so we’ll know what we say:
Samah – שָׂמַ֖ח – Jubilant, spontaneous dancing, signing (simhach) – 1 Chronicles 29:9
Alaz – עָלַז – Exult – Burst into leaping with joy – Habakkuk 3:17-18 – “Jump for JOY!”
Nagilah – נָגִ֖ילָה – Let us rejoice – Psalm 118:4
Euphraino – εὐφραίνω – To gladden the mind – Revelation 12:12
Kauchaomai – καυχάομαι – Glory in success and boast against – 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
Synchairo – συγχαίρω – Rejoicing together (συγ- -), with others – Luke 15:6
Agalliao – ἀγαλλιάω – Rejoice Greatly, to exult; jump for joy – Revelation 19:6-8
Chairo – χαίρω – Rejoicing over experiencing God’s Grace; be glad in the Lord – Luke 15:32
So, as you can see Belovéd, rejoicing is a very human thing to do because we have so many ways of expressing it. The Apostle Paul tells us at least two dozen times to rejoice, and there are over 260 occurrences of some form throughout the Bible. The Apostle Paul says “Rejoice” because our hearts rejoice “In the Lord” and our spirits “in God our Savior.” O, Belovéd! When we pause to take in the Magnificence and Magnanimity of God, we cannot help but rejoice and be JOYFUL (↔ Music Link) in our adoration of our King and God. And how is it that Isaiah, Mary, Moses, Tobit, David, Solomon, Sirach, Zechariah, and oh so many more could rejoice in God? Right again, fellow travelers! It is in the Power of the Holy Spirit! And what does HE do for us? Well, we can hark back to the Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit to see what The Apostle Paul says about these.
There is so much JOY to be found in The Holy Spirit! We know about the fruit of the Holy 
Spirit. All of the things mentioned as the Fruit of the Spirit are things that make us happy. We can find them in Galatians 5:22-23 – The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Love is service and sacrifice.
Joy is balance at the center of the soul.
Peace is good order.
Patience is the ability to endure whatever comes.
Kindness is attentive regard for the other.
Generosity is the habitual disposition to share.
Gentleness is courageous respect for other.
Self-Control is a voluntary check on the appetite for success.
We’ve also explored the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The Word of Knowledge
The Word of Wisdom
The Gift of Prophecy
The Gift of Faith
The Gift of Healing
The Working of Miracles
The Discerning of Spirits
Different Kinds of Tongues
The Interpretation of Tongues
We have this Fruit and these Gifts to help us learn to be happy – to REJOICE IN THE Lord, ALWAYS! It’s important to remember what it takes to be happy, to be always ready to rejoice. We just have to remember these 7 simple rules for REJOICING:
- Free our hearts from hatred and fill our hearts with Love.
- Free our minds from worries and fill our minds withs F.A.I.T.H.
- Live simply in the rejoicing of today.
- Give more for those who have less.
- Expect less and rejoice in the wealth of blessings we find.
- Share the Joy as we pass The Word along – AND REMEMBER …
- Joy isn’t completely fulfilled until it is shared.
We can rejoice alone – and this often happens when rejoicing in the Spirit – but when there is someone to rejoice with us … that is really REJOICING! Now, imagine rejoicing with Jesus – in our houses, in our churches, in our cars, in our hearts – ALL THE TIME!!! Now, think about this: if the Word of God mentions rejoicing so many times, can we conclude it is something our Lord thinks is important? Indeed it is important, and essential, too. ʻŌmea, will you commit to rejoicing with me in and for and because of HIM? Rejoice with one another, Belovéd. Pray for, with, and about one another (← Start here). Remember what He said: “Whatever you do to the least of these…” and “I AM coming tomorrow.” (↔ Music Link) I want him to find us REJOICING, that’s what I say!! Now, get up and – not say, but – shout HALLELUIAH!! ALLELUIA!! PRAISE THE Lord! (↔ Music Link) Our God – the Holy Trinity – is with us today. Please remember that when we say the name of God here, we mean the entire Trinity.
Carry me …
Only in God will I find Joy. Only in God will I find Justice tempered with Mercy. Only in God will I find forgiveness and the power to forgive. Only in God will my faith sustain me through my trials as well as yours. Only in God is the Father of Lies utterly defeated by the Father of Life. Only in God will I find that all of life’s answers I need were all given to me while shepherds watched their flocks by night and angels from the realms of Glory sang praise to God the Father in celebration of the birth of God the Son, Jesus. And if there were to be no God to be the Giver of All Good Gifts, how and where could I find anything that is Good? Only at the Manger and the Cross do I find the Power of God Who IS Christ Jesus to lay down my life before His Throne. Only through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit can any of us find hope that our sins, as well as the sins of those who sin against us, have been forgiven. God grant us each the sense to use the Grace He gave us to accept this simple fact: The reason for Jesus is us. And now, Belovéd, what say we rekindle the quieter side of our adoration with a gentle lullaby. What do y’all say?
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay (↔ Music Link)
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And take us to Heaven to live with Thee there.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
