3rd Sunday of Advent 15 December 2024 Recapturing joy
At times we have some joyful experiences in life, such as wedding days, passing exams, winning a grand final - and we wish those feelings of joy could stay always, but unfortunately the joy fades away.
Imagine you were present at Bethlehem at the first Christmas, or at the empty tomb the first Easter, and how good that must have felt. Yet even these joys faded somewhat with time, and the people involved had to deal with other problems – such as divisions in the Church.
Yesterday’s miracle can seem like old news if we let it.
If the joy of something fades it does not necessarily mean the experience has disappeared; it may just have sunk down deeper; still there, but not as easy to identify. It does not mean we have lost our faith, just that the emotional support is not always there.
God wants us to learn how to trust Him; to walk by faith not by sight (2 Co 5,7).
The whole history of the Church is there for us to draw upon and find the strength we need now. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. We have the Bible, creeds, councils, popes, saints - they all sustain us if we turn to them.
We are glad these events happened, but how to connect with them so that they have their full effect?
We do not let the passing of time dim our enthusiasm. The reason we gather on a Sunday is to recapture the Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead, and the Sunday that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles.
The people were excited then; they can be excited now. Sometimes we will feel it; all the time we will believe it.
And the more we believe, the more we are going to see signs of victorious activity around us. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe (Jn 20,29).
Our repetition of prayers and sacraments should work to cement our faith more fully.
We believed it in the past, so we believe it now, and always.
The passing of time is one thing. What about when things happen which are decidedly non -joyful. Rejoice always does not mean we are happy about bad things that happen. What we are glad about is that Christ is Risen, and all the connected themes that go with that.
If even one thing that we believe is true we have enough joy for the whole world and for all time. If one part of the chain is true, then so is the whole chain.
There are many things going on but front and centre there is Jesus Christ, and I belong to Him; my life is based on Him, and He lives in me. This is what I am happy about.
The sorrow is real, but we do not dwell in it, or on it, but reclaim the joy that never expires; and sometimes at least the feelings will come along too; but with or without them we have the basic truth which sets us free (Jn 8,31-32).
Every day we can reaffirm who we are, what we are, where we have come from, where we are going. We check in with God to get all those things back in the right place and when balanced correctly we must be happy.
All praise to Jesus Christ, born, died, risen and coming again.
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