Dec. 17, 2017: 3rd Sunday Advent B

Dec. 17, 2017: 3rd Sunday Advent B

Do you consider yourself a joyful or joy-filled person? When we describe someone as “joyful” we often mean that they bring a special light into life. Many of us experience life as a mixture of happy moments, sadness, and even tragedies. But do we strive to be joyful even when the sun stops shining? Events, people, and things can make us feel happy. We also know that these feelings come and go. What we need is an inner disposition of joy in our lives--joy that does not diminish with circumstances. An example of this resilient joy is a writing found on a basement wall of a home: 

“I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.

I believe in love, even when I feel it not.

I believe in God, even when He is silent.”

This writing epitomizes joy because it was written by someone who was suffering a great deal in Germany during the World War II holocaust. Joy allows us to look at the world through the lens of hope and possibility. It’s this kind of joy that Prophet Isaiah spoke about in our First Reading: “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice.” This hope-filled joy is preached by John the Baptist, a man sent from God to testify to the light of joy coming to the world. We Christians have access to this joy, for on the night of Our Lord’s birth, the angel announced, “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people” (Luke 2:10). Through our baptism, we belong to the royalty of God’s kingdom, and that is a great cause for rejoicing. 

Pope Francis repeated many times in his homilies that a healthy Christian is a joyful Christian, even in times of sorrow and tribulation. Joy is possible because it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to love and fills us with joy. He said, “Christian vocation is to remain in the love of God, that is, to breathe, to live of that oxygen, to live of that air...Who gives us joy? The Holy Spirit! How many of you pray to the Holy Spirit? He is the gift, the gift that gives us peace, that teaches us to love and fills us with joy.” Saint Paul gave us practical advice in our Second Reading, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus...Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.” 

What can we do today to strive to be joyful Christians? Even when we are under difficult situations, we can choose to see hope and possibility. A cancer survivor shared how he was feeling sorry for himself and feeling awful after rounds of chemo treatment and losing hair. One day he decided to volunteer to push the wheelchair for chemo patients at the hospital. While volunteering, he forgot about himself and experienced joy in giving his time. Making a gift of ourselves for others is one way to experience joy. Let us take St. Paul’s advice, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13). 

https://youtu.be/hYwYMngq4II