My Good Friends,
Throughout our liturgical cycles, we don’t seem to hear much from The Epistle of James and for me, on this Third Week of Advent, I find his message to us quite poignant, even uplifting on this Gaudete “Rejoice” Sunday. Advent has a funny way of holding two opposite feelings at the same time: quiet expectation and frantic busyness. We’re lighting candles and singing about waiting for Jesus, but we’re also rushing, putting up trees, decorating, shopping, visiting and stressing, and wondering how to get it all done so that we may be able to relax a bit.
And into that mix, James drops a surprisingly grounded message: be patient. He doesn’t mean “sit around and do nothing.” He uses the image of a farmer waiting for the precious harvest. Farmers don’t just stare out the window hoping something grows, they prepare the soil, plant, water, watch the weather, and trust a process they don’t fully control. That can be a way for us to look at Advent. It’s not passive waiting; it’s hopeful tending. It’s showing up in small, steady ways even when you can’t see any immediate results.
“Strengthen your hearts.” says James. It’s such a gentle instruction. Again, not telling us to pull ourselves together or pretend everything’s fine. He’s inviting us to make room for hope, to shore up the inner places where we’re tired, discouraged, or stretched thin. If we allow it to, Advent can give us little practices that help with that: a candle lit in the dark, a moment of quiet after a long day, a simple prayer whispered on the go. These tiny acts strengthen us more than we realize. And then comes the line that hits a little too close to home: “Do not grumble against one another.” It’s almost as if James knew what the holidays can do to people, how stress can make us short with each other, how waiting can make us edgy, how closeness with others can reveal our impatience. But James’ point isn’t to shame us; it’s to remind us that waiting is something we do together. The season of Advent is meant to be communal, in support of each other in the tension between the already and the not-yet. other in the tension between the already and the not-yet. Finally, James points us back to the prophets, the people who waited, hoped, struggled, trusted, and kept going. Their lives remind us that God works slowly sometimes, but never absentmindedly. Even when it feels like nothing is moving, God is not idle. The struggle is real!
The invitation of James during Advent is simple: Be patient, because God is close. Tend to your heart, because hope grows slowly. Be gentle with each other, because we’re all waiting for something, and remember that God is preparing something worth the wait. So Rejoice and be hopeful this Gaudete Sunday!
Peace and All Good,
– Fr. Zack
