The Soul Felt Its Worth – Homily for Gaudete Sunday

Today we heard the prophet Isaiah say,
“I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul.”
The word “rejoice” is repeated over and over in today’s Gaudete Sunday liturgy,
from that reading of Isaiah,
to the responsorial psalm,
“My soul rejoices in my God,”
and in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians,
“Rejoice always.”

We’re only about a week away from Christmas,
and today we are reminded
that Christmas is a time of rejoicing.

There are many people whose faces shine with that spirit of rejoicing,
and who are filled with Christmas joy.

But I’ve talked with many other people this year
who are struggling to rejoice right now.
They are tired, they are weary.

Some are weary of the situation the world is in:
violence and war, politics and division, natural disasters.
Other people I talk with are struggling to make ends meet,
worried about loved ones,
facing difficult health issues,
struggling with anxiety and depression.
Some people are simply weary from all the busyness of the season:
getting the house ready for guests,
trying to get all the shopping done or the presents wrapped,
tracking down that special gift that is out of stock everywhere.

For many right now, they are too weary to rejoice.

When I think of those who are weary and maybe just a bit beaten down,
I am reminded of one of our most beautiful Christmas carols—
more of Christmas hymn, really, it is so beautiful.

And whether you are struggling to rejoice,
or finding it easy to have a joyful spirit,
I think this Christmas hymn has a lot to offer all of us
as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The Christmas hymn I’m talking about is “O Holy Night,”
and one line that really stands out,
when I think of all those who right now are struggling and tired,
is, “the weary world rejoices.”

If you are feeling weary right now,
then this Christmas hymn is for you.
Even if you already have that Christmas joy,
“O Holy Night” can only increase it,
and it make it that much more real.

“O Holy Night” was originally a poem,
written in French by Placide Cappeau,
and as many of you know,
it begins like this:
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth;

Even though Christmas is still a week away,
let’s visualize Christmas as it was in Bethlehem so many years ago,
the sky filled with stars.

Imagine what is was like in the long years before Christ was born:
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

The Israelites waited centuries for their savior, their Messiah.
They suffered through slavery,
they were exiled to Assyria and Babylon,
they were conquered by the Greeks and the Romans,
and still they longed for their deliverer.

To this day we pine for God
in sin and error.
In our selfishness and in our pain
we turn away from God.

And yet, in all that sin and error,
there is a seeking, a yearning,
a restlessness,
a pining for meaning, for purpose,
for God.

As St. Augustine put it so beautifully,
“Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in thee.”

And so the hymn proclaims,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

That may be the most beautiful line in the entire hymn.
…he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

He appeared, Christ appeared.
And what happens next?
The soul feels its worth.
The coming of the Messiah makes our soul feel its worth.
The prophet Isaiah tells us today,
“in my God is the joy of my soul.”

With the coming of Christ,
the soul now feels how beloved it is.

Because of the birth of Christ,
we know who we are,
and we know that we are loved.

It is Christ who is the Good Shepherd,
who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one who is lost.
It is Christ who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah
we heard in the first reading,
when he stood up in the synagogue and read from the scroll:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free…”

He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.

And so I would invite you to ask yourself today,
Do you feel your worth?
It doesn’t matter if you are a slave to addiction, or if you are free;
it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, broken or whole.
You have worth.
You belong.
You matter.
You are loved,
each one of you.
And each of the people sitting next to you, and across from you,
and each of the people who aren’t here,
for whatever reason.
They, too, are loved,
wherever they are on their spiritual journey.
They have worth.
They have dignity,
they are loved.
Because on Christmas night,
Jesus Christ was born,
and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;

Can you see it now, that new and glorious day?
Can you see beyond the weariness,
beyond the doubts and fears?

There is hope, a thrill of hope, and we can rejoice!

That’s what Gaudete Sunday is about.
It’s about giving us a glimpse,
an early experience of Christmas joy.

And so, in this remaining week before Christmas,
one thing you might do
is find yourself a beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night.”
There are versions for every musical taste: classical, country, pop, jazz,
by musicians as diverse as
Josh Groban, Martina McBride, Mariah Carey,
Ella Fitzgerald, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill,
you name it,
there are over 1,000 recordings of this Christmas hymn.
Find a version on YouTube or Spotify or Apple Music,
and listen to it every day leading up to Christmas.
Or maybe you could listen to a different rendition each day.

And after prayerfully listening to it,
contemplate that line,
’Til he appeared, and the soul felt its worth,”
and try to feel your own worth.
It’s one thing to know it intellectually:
“Yes, I understand, I am a child of God,
God created me,
I know that.”
It’s one thing to know that in the mind.
It’s quite another things to feel it in our souls,
to be able to say with the prophet Isaiah,
“in my God is the joy of my soul.”

So maybe each day between now and Christmas,
you can take some time to pause in your day,
maybe five, ten, or even fifteen minutes,
close your eyes,
and feel God looking at you with the eyes of love.
A love so great that he became a little child,
that he walked this earth
bringing glad tidings to the poor,
healing the brokenhearted,
going to the outcasts and the oppressed,
and loving them.
Until finally he accepted the cross,
doing all of this so that our soul would feel its worth,
so that we would have a thrill of hope,
and a weary world could rejoice.

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.