Rejoice!
A message for the Third Sunday in Advent
Delivered December 13, 2009 by Scott Cooper
St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Prineville, Oregon
The third Sunday in Advent is traditionally referred to as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, from the Latin, “guadeo”, a verb meaning “rejoice.”
We do things a little differently today than we do during the rest of Advent. For one thing, we light the rose candle on the advent wreath. Were an ordained priest standing in my place, she or he would be wearing rose colored vestments in place of the usual white vestments called for in this season. The well-dressed priest would also be wearing his or her dalmatic—the richly embroidered outer garment worn over a tunic, and this would be in stark contrast to the rest of advent when sobriety is the order of the season.
Sobriety because Advent is traditionally celebrated as a time of somberness. Historically, Advent began as a penitential feast leading up to Christmas—a sort of second Lent if you like. Originally, fasting was called for during Advent, although abstinence was substituted for fasting from the Twelfth Century on. In earlier times, the organ was never heard and flowers were not allowed on the altar during Advent—except for this one Sunday, Guadete Sunday, when the people were allowed to take a little break from all that somberness.
Guadete Sunday has a counterpart during Lent. It is called Laetare Sunday. It also occurs mid-season, and it also offers a little break from all the doom and gloom that surrounds the rest of the season.
