Why God shares in our joy on Gaudete Sunday

While it is true that we are called to rejoice during Advent, God also shares in that joy in a way that we don't often think about.

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On the Third Sunday of Advent, the Church invites us to rejoice, looking forward to the end of the penitential season of Advent and the coming of Jesus on Christmas Day.

What’s interesting to think about is that we are not the only ones who rejoice.

God is also full of joy.

God’s joy

Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this simple spiritual truth in a homily he gave on the Third Sunday of Advent in 2012:

He first introduces the topic by focusing on the First Reading at Mass:

The First Reading we have heard is an insistent invitation to rejoice. The passage begins with the words “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion… Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem” (Zeph 3:14); which is similar to that of the Angel’s annunciation to Mary: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).
The essential reason why the daughter of Zion can be joyful is expressed in the affirmation we have just heard: “the Lord is in your midst” (Zeph 3:15, 17); this means literally “is in your womb”, with a clear reference to the dwelling place of God in the Ark of the Covenant, always set in the midst of the People of Israel.

Reciprocal joy

He then points out a passage in that reading that reveals God’s joy:

The Prophet Zephaniah, in addition, lets us know that this joy is reciprocal: we are invited to rejoice, but the Lord also rejoices in his relationship with us; indeed, the prophet writes: “he will exult over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (v. 17). T
he joy that is promised in this prophetic text, will find its fulfillment in Jesus, who is in the womb of Mary, the “Daughter of Zion”, and in this way dwelt among us (cf Jn 1: 14). Indeed, in coming into the world he gives us his joy, just as he himself confides to his disciples: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (Jn 15:11).

The joy that we are invited to participate in is in fact God’s joy, the joy of being in an intimate relationship with God.

We are not the only ones who rejoice during Advent (or the rest of the year). God is the one who rejoiced first and wants to give us the joy that he posseses.