In the second reading for today James displays his experiences of farming as he points out "See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains.  You too must be patient."  Looking back on my own experiences of waiting, patience was indeed demanded, but the anticipated joy was at times almost equal to the joy itself.  It's just like the build-up to a World Cup game when your own team is in the final competition.  The anticipation provides a special joy whose slow build up practically matches the thrill of the final victory. 

The Isaiah prophecy in the first reading uses almost all future tense verbs: "will exult.... will rejoice and bloom... will rejoice... will be given...they will see..."  The joys described are so graphic and picturesque that they make the fantasies of cool lake water on the sweaty back of a hayseed boy seem pale by comparison.   But just as the promise of a trip to the lake would bring a new spring to my step and new power to my arms, so the promises of Isaiah achieved an immediate impetus in the Israelites who had returned from exile to "strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak," and exhorted "to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!"  And what accomplished this transformation to new strength was the awareness "Here is your God."

Well beyond my own father who regularly kept his promises, Yahweh has always kept his promises.  Isaiah foretold "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing."  If we want to know if these promises were fulfilled, all we have to do is read the gospels.  John the Baptist wanted to know if Jesus was the one to come, and Jesus himself replied in effect "If it no be panadol..." by sending the message "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them."  We, too, need do no more than open our eyes and our ears today and we will see that even since the time of Jesus through the work of his body, the church, the same promises are still being fulfilled.  Is it any wonder that on this Gaudete Sunday we rejoice, anticipating that the promises made to us will once again be fulfilled?