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I grew up in the Baptist church—Southern Baptist. Advent and the liturgy, as recognized by Episcopalians, were not part of my upbringing. Therefore, when I became an Episcopalian several years ago, I had a lot to learn. I am still learning.
Advent is a period of expectation, preparation, and waiting for the birth of Christ as well as his second coming. To help us focus, we have Advent wreaths, candle lighting, understanding the themes for each Sunday, specific liturgy readings, and more.
Learning about the four Sundays in Advent and the theme of each one (hope, peace, joy, and love) has been very meaningful for me. Something else I learned recently is that the third Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday, which we just celebrated. It can fall on any date from December 11 to December 17. Gaudete in Latin means Rejoice and the focus for Gaudete Sunday is Joy. And what better way is there to anticipate the birth of the Christ child and the second coming than with joy and expectation?
”Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” --Philippians 4: 4-6
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