Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Gaudete. Now that’s a word we do not hear, or use much any more. I guess the reason for that is…it is a Latin word, and for the most part Latin is considered a dead language. We are using it here because it is the word for the third Sunday of Advent! Gaudete! It means…Rejoice! Rejoice because we know that the Savior has been born. The hope for all mankind has finally arrived! But, what if we lived in a time when the Savior had not been born yet? A time that was loosing it’s grip on a promise that was given during the time of the prophets, so long ago? A time when life was so hard because the government was crewel to your ‘kind’.
As I’m writing this I am seeing some similarities to the world today. We were given Jesus, the Hope for the world over 2,000 years ago. Yet, we are finding ourselves in such a hopeless condition right now. It seems that no matter what we try to stop the spread of covid-19, it does not work! With all the experts and all the doctors and money at our disposal, we cannot fix it! Our business are going under, our hospitals are filling up and our patience for all the restrictions is at the breaking point.
In our day to day world, we have to deal with all the impositions of covid restrictions, inflation, detours everywhere and a long list of other distractions making our heads spin! Not unlike the age when they were waiting for the FIRST presentation of Jesus into our world.
When Jesus was coming onto the scene, for the first time, there was a remnant of people who were watching and waiting to see the Salvation of Israel. And they found it! Anna and Simeon watched and waited. Sure it was hard doing the right thing in a wrong leaning world. It was hard then, it’s still hard now. Living for God when people around you want to do their own thing, live any ungodly way and try to make you conform-or keep quiet. It’s difficult to stand alone against the incoming tide of public opinion.
But God! But God says, wait for the Salvation of Israel. Then, He came as an infant! God still says wait for the Salvation of the world, only I, God, have the answer. That’s why we rejoice this Sunday, and every day we wake up to take another breath. Someday soon, the God of this universe will step into His fallen creation for the SECOND time, and He will miraculously provide us with THE answer, IF we are seeking it, and looking for it earnestly! When it does come, we must tell everyone we can; “This is a miracle, God provided us with the answers we earnestly sought!” GAUDETE! REJOICE!
Question; Are you looking to God, or man for the answer to these difficult questions?
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