When Ruth and I were first married, we waited to put up our Christmas Tree until Christmas Eve. However, that late into Advent, the trees left in a Christmas Tree lot were basically a trunk with needleless branches. The next year, we decided to begin a new Tradition, decorate the house and put up the tree on Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. This family Tradition has been retained the past 40 years. On this Rejoice Sunday we begin to focus on the first coming of Jesus, when the Light of God’s love came into the darkness of human existence. The misery, the violence and bloodshed, the political unrest, the sickness and death that filled the ancient world into which Jesus was born, is still present in our world. On this Sunday, we re-experience the collective memory of the longing and hope that filled the hearts of our Jewish ancestors. On this Sunday, rather than fall prey to the negativity and darkness around us, we are called instead to open our hearts and minds to the peace and hope that only God can give to us. We are called to open the manger of our lives and welcome with joy the Light of the World that Mary and Joseph bring to us. We recall that Emmanuel means “God With Us” in all aspects of our lives. From the moment of his birth, Jesus has never left us or abandoned us, but rather is so united with us that he is a part of our DNA, closer than the breath that feels our bodies. As we light up our houses, and bake all the Christmas goodies, set up our trees and decorate in festive colors, let us light up the interior place of our hearts and minds with Emmanuel, God ever with us.
