Hearts in Search of Joy
We all know what this Sunday is. It’s Gaudete Sunday, “joy” Sunday, and who couldn’t use a little more joy in their lives? Yet, before we consider what joy is, let’s stop and think about what we’re hearing this Advent. Have you noticed?
On the first Sunday of Advent we heard about “happiness.” That’s when we learned that the true secret of happiness is learning where to find true happiness, and that we’re going to be happy only to the extent that we learn to be happy with God alone, because every earthly happiness is fleeting and fading. Only God alone can make us permanently happy.
Then, last week, we heard about fear and doubt, which we all face in our lives. The message then was about being strong and holding fast to the Lord, who will sustain us throughout everything.
Now, today, on this third Sunday of Advent, the message is about joy. It’s as if we’re being subtly led toward a mystery that God is only gradually revealing to us. So, what’s on God’s mind today and what does he want us to learn at this Mass?
We start to get an idea about that when we consider the developing message—happiness, fear, doubt and now joy. Perhaps one of the messages God is sending us is that happiness isn’t the same thing as joy. So what is it then? What’s joy, for that matter, what’s perfect joy?
Each time I consider joy I think back to the time when I was a seminarian, during my fourth and final year of graduate school. During that Spring I took two men I knew in Rome (there are a great many Americans living and studying in Rome and not all are seminarians) and a few of their relatives to Assisi, the home of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. It was a typical Italian Spring day, with periodic and brief showers. Fortunately I had my little collapsible umbrella, which I pulled out whenever the raindrops began to fall. Later that day, while we walked down the narrow road from the top of Mount Subasio, black clouds rolled up overhead. Instead of rain, suddenly we found ourselves trapped without shelter in a hailstorm. We ran for the only shelter around, a cluster of olive trees on the side of the road. Of course, the trees provided little shelter, so to add a little protection I took out my collapsible umbrella and we all huddled together, as best as we could, and waited out the storm, which thankfully was brief. During those horrible moments I pulled a small book from my pocket and began to read aloud a short allegory that Saint Francis wrote, called “Perfect Joy.”
“When we come, soaked by the rain and frozen by the cold, all soiled with mud and suffering from hunger, and we ring at the gate of a house and someone comes and says angrily, ‘Who are you?’ And we say, ‘We are two of your brothers.” And he contradicts us, saying, ‘You are not telling the truth. Rather you are two rascals who go around deceiving people and stealing what they give to the poor. Go away!’ And he does not open the door for us, but makes us stand outside in the snow and rain, cold and hungry, until night falls then that is perfect joy!
“And if later, suffering intensely from hunger and the painful cold, with night falling, we still knock and call, and crying loudly beg them to open for us and let us come in for the love of God, and he grows still more angry and says, ‘Those fellows are bold and shameless ruffians. I’ll give them what they deserve!’ And he comes out with a knotty club, and grasping us round the neck, throws us onto the ground, rolling us in the mud and snow, and beats us with that club so much that he covers our bodies with wounds—if we endure all those evils and blows with joy and patience, reflecting that we must accept and bear the sufferings of the Blessed Christ patiently for love of Him, oh, that is perfect joy!”
I read that in a pounding hailstorm, and it seemed an appropriate thing to do, but honestly, I must admit, no one else appreciated the humor of it, and perhaps it wasn’t really the best time to consider what Saint Francis was teaching. His point was simple—that to endure the trials, fears, suffering and doubts of this life we need more than happiness, we need joy! They are not the same experience.
If we took the message to heart from the first Sunday of Advent, then we’re learning to be happy with God alone, but we’ll also learn that it won’t be sufficient to meet everything that life throws at us. Happiness gets us going in the right direction, but we need more if we’re going to stay on the path toward God and the Kingdom. That’s where joy comes in. That’s how Saint Francis could talk about joy in the midst of so much suffering, because joy transforms our understanding and response to trials.
Let’s consider the joyful message from today’s three Bible readings. To put it simply, most people didn’t really know what they were looking for when they came to Zephaniah, or Paul, or John the Baptist, but at least they came. At least they decided to put themselves where they could hear God calling to them. Most people don’t do that. Most people immerse themselves in distractions instead of searching for God. The tragedy is that the world’s distractions have a disastrous effect on our lives—they make us deaf and blind, too disoriented and distracted to pay attention long enough to hear what God is saying to us.
It’s not coincidental that John the Baptist, and others like him, appeared in the desert. If you’ve ever gone into a desert you’ll already know that one of the chief characteristics of such places is that they are profoundly quiet. There’s a noticeable lack of distractions. That’s what it takes to hear God; it takes silence, and silence is required in all our lives. Without it we’ll never really know God in a profound sense.
What did people ask of these three great prophets of the Bible about what they should do to hear God and to serve him well? When people asked Zephaniah for guidance, he reminded them to do what is most important; to work on their relationship with God, for this relationship is fundamental to everything else. It shouldn’t be taken for granted, and it takes time and effort to cultivate. Zephaniah also encouraged people to ponder God’s concern for their wellbeing, his promise of salvation. That’s important to do because God is, and always has been, concerned for our wellbeing. Everything he does for us, and everything he asks of us, is for our good. We can be sure of this—if our own self-interest is ever in conflict with what God asks of us, it’s certain that we’re off track. God is never wrong! It takes prayer and silence to discern what God wants for us, and so Zephaniah encouraged people to devote themselves to this task. If they did just that much, and did it consistently, and did not allow the world’s distractions to lure them away, then they would grow in joyfulness and would learn how to be glad in the Lord even during life’s storms.
When people ask Saint Paul for guidance, what was his response? He reminded them first of the characteristics of a true disciple, an authentic believer. He reminded them of the importance of being kind, gentle spirited, and long-suffering. He admonished them to cultivate a life of prayer, not just the practice of it. He also reminded them of the uselessness of worry and anxiety, for these things are Satan’s way of killing God’s Spirit within us. Yet, we know that worry and anxiety is a common experience. Why? Because Satan uses the world’s distractions to fill our minds and hearts with insecurities, which drive us away from God. Let’s face it, the world is influencing us to feel badly about ourselves. It tells us that we’re not beautiful enough and not strong enough. It tells us that we don’t have enough, don’t live in the right neighborhoods, and that we haven’t accomplished enough in this life. We’re made to feel insufficient, always wanting more, and never satisfied. Those things lure us away from God. Saint Paul encouraged people to solidify their relationship with God through prayer, self-sacrifice, self-denial and charity as ways of counteracting the distractions of the world. If, Saint Paul said, the people would do these things, and do them consistently, then they would know true, profound and lasting joy.
When ordinary people—soldiers, tax collectors and regular people—came to John to ask for his guidance, what was his response? He was very practical. He encouraged them to share with others, to avoid cheating people in any way, to be respectful in their dealings, and to be content with what God gave them. In these ways we’d find balance and the distractions that constantly compete for our attention would be gradually silenced. If they’d do just these things, consistently, then God’s people would experience true joy and know God’s blessings.
These past three weeks of Advent contain some very important life lessons for us and we’d do well to pay attention.
Joy, like happiness, is all about learning to seek where these things can be truly found, and that is God alone. It’s important that we not be distracted, but seek true joy and lasting happiness, all the days of our lives.
Let’s face it. There are too many distractions in our lives. There are too many things, calendars, activities, and the like, vying for our attention. These distractions are easy to recognize at Christmas, if we’ll take time to see them. This is the time of year that we notice the gagging of the Christmas message. The mystery of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, and the importance of Jesus’ life to the possibility of our salvation, is shouted down and overshadowed in many ways, every year. It happens to such a great degree that many—perhaps even many Christians—don’t even notice that Jesus’ birth is being forced to compete with a multitude of other things.
So what should we do, sisters and brothers, to avoid being lured from God by the distractions of this season? My suggestion to you begins with a reminder that, the heart follows where your mind goes. So, make sure that you focus your mind on God alone this holiday season. By all means, enjoy all the good things this season has to offer, but keep your mind focused on God. If you do that, and do it consistently, then you’ll experience the true meaning of joy on Christmas Day and experience its effects every day of the coming year.
May God bless you!