3rd Sunday of Advent 2018 - Rejoice in the Lord Always. Always!

A few weeks ago, at my previous parish assignments, I was meeting with our parish youth group, a great group of kids in 8th through 12th grade. The discussion that week centered on the commandments: how the commandments of God are not always easy to follow, sometimes we are tempted to break or ignore them; how the commandments of God are often differ from the attitudes of the culture—how civil laws can even allow what the law of God forbids. The conversation then turned to examine how following the commandments and the teachings of Jesus bring us a joy that nothing else in the world can give. This led us to differentiate between happiness and joy. Our culture treats those two words virtually synonymously. The word "joy" is used modernly to mean a great quantity of happiness. I’m happy, for example when the Cleveland Browns bring home a victory, but joy is reserved for births and weddings and ordinations and pastor installations.

Christians, though use these words a bit differently. Happiness is satisfaction with temporary things. Again, I’m happy when my chicken wings are the perfect level of crispiness, I’m happy when the traffic light turns green at just the right time and I can cruise right through the intersection.

But no amount of crispy chicken wings or green lights or browns victories can bring joy…ever. Because joy comes from our relationship not from temporary earthly things, but with being in right relationship with the eternal things of God: Truth, Goodness, Beauty. Our hearts are filled not just with happiness, but joy, when we learn the Truth that comes from God, when we engage in truly good acts, caring for the poor, caring for a sick family member, feeding the hungry, forgiving those who hurt us. And we are filled with joy at the sight of beauty, true beauty, the beauty of God’s creation, beautiful and timeless Christian art and architecture, like that we are able to behold when we come to St. Ignatius of Antioch church, “The Cathedral of West Blvd.”

If you remember, a few weeks ago, the story of the rich young man. Jesus invites him to give up his possessions and to follow him, and the rich young man rejects the invitation, he goes away sad, why? Because he was unwilling to detach himself from the love of his temporary, earthly possessions. He chose happiness from passing earthly things, over the joy that comes from the truth and goodness and beauty of Jesus Christ.

I reflect this morning on joy as we celebrate Joy Sunday—Gaudete Sunday. On this 3rd Sunday of Advent we allow ourselves to revel in the joy that Christ is near. Rejoice, for the Lord is near, as St. Paul writes in our second reading. The eternal one, the eternal word made flesh, whose incarnation brings about a reconciliation between man and God, man to finally be saved from slavery to the flesh that he might live for what is eternal.

Last week, I announced an increase in the availability of the Sacrament of Confession here at St. Ignatius: a full hour on Saturday, and confession between the two Sunday morning masses. In Confession, we acknowledge the times we have lived for the earthly rather than for God: for the pleasure of the instant of lust, the pleasure of sharing that juicy piece of gossip, the dark satisfaction of stunning someone into silence through hurtful words in an argument, relying on ourselves too much and trusting in God too little, for the acts of selfishness which, yes, bring some earthly gratification, but in the end, diminish authentic joy in us.

St. Paul’s exhortation to rejoice always, is quite challenging, isn’t it? . Rejoice in the Lord always?  Really Saint Paul?  Would Paul dare to say those words if he knew the horrors of the 20th century, the godlessness taking root in so many places in our world today? Does he dare to utter those words to a parent grieving the loss of a child? To a widow? To slave? To a cripple? To the terminally ill?

Well, yes, I think he would. Because his message is timeless. Now of course he’s not saying rejoice on account of all the evil in the world. Evil is not a good thing. Tragedy is not a good thing. Nor is Paul exhorting us to pretend like the evils in the world “Aren’t that bad.”

What he’s saying is, rejoice because Jesus is real and Jesus is near to us, even in tragedy, especially in tragedy. In the aftermath of senseless tragedies many ask “where is God?”  And the Church, in all honestly and conviction, says, “here.”  God is here, with us, now, with his consolation for those who mourn, with the promise of eternal life for those who die in his friendship. 

And because God is near and because God can transform every occasion into a moment of grace, the Christian can truly rejoice always.  God can transform the most painful cross into the most redemptive sanctifying moments of our life.

Echoing the words of St. Paul, Saint Therese of Liseaux from her death bed said, “Everything is grace”.  Again, in those three words, Thérèse does not mean it makes no difference what I do, that every choice is good. I cannot choose evil and think grace is in that choice. Saint Thérèse is explaining that God is never distant. Wherever we are, in that exact place in that moment, even on your death bed, even when nailed to the cross, there is the choice, to turn to God and know his closeness.  God is with us, always, and He is wholly concerned about our eternal well-being, always.

Our Advent days are literally brimming over with opportunities to encounter the Lord, to remember the Lord’s Christmas nearness. In our daily prayer, in the sacraments, in serving our neighbor, in the little crosses God gives us to bear, doing small deeds with great love. Our successes and our failures and even tragedies can be turned into moments of grace, and increase in joy, when we realize God is near. But the choice is ours to turn from darkness and self-reliance, from the bottle and pills, from the iphone screen, from the need to control the lives of others, or to turn to light, to the eternal one, the fount of true and lasting joy.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, Rejoice” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.