Fr Billy Swan
Dear friends. On this Third Sunday of Advent we come to what is known as ‘Gaudete Sunday’ which literally means ‘Rejoice Sunday’ where the focus in the readings and the liturgy is on joy. Hands up who doesn’t want to be happy? No one. Rich or poor, young or old, believer or atheist, we all want to be happy. The good news is that this is what God wants too! In the second reading today, St Paul represents this desire of God that we share his joy: ‘I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord. I repeat, what I want is your happiness’.
But hang on a second. How does this message sit with someone who has every reason to be unhappy – like someone who has received a bad diagnosis, or someone bereaved in the past year or someone who is homeless. Are we asking them to simply ignore their misery and smile through it? Of course not. Yet being happy is not always the same as being joyful. We can confuse happiness with our moods, with feeling good. We are told that Christmas is a time of ‘good cheer’. But it isn’t always, for everyone. Yet it still is a time when we can experience joy that bubbles up from a well that is deeper down. That is why Paul asks us not just to rejoice, but to rejoice ‘IN THE LORD’. That is the key. But how?
The first joy is knowing God is near. At Christmas we celebrate ‘the Word made flesh who lives among us’ (Jn. 1:14). He is ‘Emmanuel, the name which means God is with us’ (Matt. 1:22); Mary is told to ‘rejoice so highly favoured. The Lord is with you’ (Luke 1:28). No matter how alone we feel, never doubt that he is with us.
The second source of joy is in what God does. God’s presence among us is not static. His love is active and busy. Mary’s spirit ‘rejoices in God my Saviour…for the Almighty has done great things for me’ (Lk. 1: 47, 49). The three great parables of mercy in Luke 15 - the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, all end in a rejoicing that flows from restoration, healing and forgiveness.
The third feature of joy is that it flows from prayer: ‘Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy’ (Ps. 43:4); As the angels announced on the night of Christ’s birth, Christianity is ‘news of great joy: a joy to be shared by the whole people’ (Luke 2:10). The joy of some is the joy of all and it is found where people gather to pray with hearts filled with gratitude.
The fourth feature of joy is that it is not just rooted in God but in the ways of God. For example, joy will be impossible if we do wrong, act unjustly or ignore the truth. Feelings come and go but the fruit of a well-ordered life is blessedness which leads to lasting joy.
A fifth aspect of joy is that it is possible to experience, even in the midst of suffering and loss. Faced with his impending departure and death, Jesus assures his disciples that ‘though you will be sorrowful, your sorrow will turn to joy’ (Jn. 16:20). Sorrow is temporary. Joy will be everlasting.
A sixth dimension of joy from the Scriptures - joy experienced in this life is but a shadow of that which awaits us in heaven: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined all that God has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Cor. 2:9). The experience of joy in the present is an anticipation of the joy in the future where we will praise God forever in heaven. We are an Easter people (even at Christmas!). Even now we possess the joy of the resurrection that draws us forward towards a future of joy with God.
The seventh and final foundation of joy is that God himself is joyful. How often do we contemplate God’s nature as joyful love? I suspect we are more likely to image him as stern and serious rather than overflowing with abundant joy. Yet when we reflect on the life of Jesus, a joyful God is who he reveals: ‘At that time, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, Jesus exclaimed, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’ (Luke 10:21). Indeed, it could be argued that the whole spiritual life is founded on Jesus’ invitation to ‘enter into the joy of your Lord’ (Matt. 25:21).
Friends, Christ wills that we be known by our joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that we possess. In the midst of a world weighed down by troubles, the Christian is a person possessed by a divine joy that is infectious and attractive. This is why for Mother Teresa, ‘joy is a net of love by which we catch souls’ for ‘the one filled with joy preaches without preaching’. Christianity is a religion of joy. As Christmas approaches, we may well experience feelings of melancholy or sadness for many legitimate reasons. But let us also have the courage to rejoice in the Lord – in his presence, in his gift of salvation, in our praise of him, in his ways, in our hope of heaven and even in his cross. God is the source of our joy for he is the God of joy.
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