Rejoice Always!

Today is “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice.” – that is why the color of our vestments is Rose – which symbolizes JOY. In today’s second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always” … meaning – rejoicing at ALL times and in ALL circumstances…not only when things are going well with us.

But- How can one rejoice when one is sick, when one just lost a job or when one just lost a loved one especially in this coming Christmas?

How could St. Paul say “Rejoice Always”? Always? Yes - You see – St. Paul is not naïve. He is not just a positive thinking guru.  St. Paul was actually shipwrecked, scourged, criticized, blamed, was imprisoned and he had physical ailments.

So - How could St. Paul live a life of peace and joy in the midst of life’s challenges?  What was his secret?  The secret is being totally dependent on God… totally entrusting himself to the hands of God… trusting that God is in control…

Rejoicing always does not mean that you are always on emotional high all the time… It does not mean always feeling like we’re going to a party …but it means there is peace beyond understanding that abides even through the worst of life – because - Christ is in our lives… Emmanuel.

The coming of Jesus – the Incarnation of God – which we celebrate at Christmas - changed everything.  Jesus’ victory over sin and death is so powerful – so complete – that NO negativity, no terrible life experience nor sickness, etc. can overcome what Jesus has accomplished through His dying and rising.

In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:38-39:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.…”

Therefore, there is always ground for hope and there is always cause for joy; and on that basis; Indeed! We can rejoice always… IN THE LORD! That is the key. Rejoice always! … in the Lord.

St. Paul wrote to the Philippians: “…For I have learned to be content with whatever I have… in any and all circumstances… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)

Of course, admittedly - all of these are much easier said than done.

 It is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always.  Of course, on our own – we cannot follow this command to rejoice always - but – by the grace of God - the One who calls us to this joyful life is faithful and He will do it in our lives…  He will accomplish it as we heard in the reading.

 There is a difference between faith and trust.  You see - Faith is believing that God CAN bring good out of bad things or bad situations in life… believing that God CAN save us.

Trust is believing that God WILL ACTUALLY do it.

So, rejoice in the Lord always because God’s love is unconditional and unchanging and true.

Meaning – in contrast - our inner peace and joy must not be dependent upon other people… even our loved ones.  For example, we believe people CAN do good things for us but the question is – will they actually do it? At times, even our most trusted friend or family member disappoint us.

Our peace and joy must not be dependent on things we possess; must not be dependent on the circumstances of life.  Our hope, peace and joy must be anchored on something more stable than the shifting sands of life’s fortunes; they must be anchored or grounded on God Himself… again, whose love is unconditional and unchanging and true.

It means being in constant awareness of the loving presence of God.  As we heard in the reading, giving thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” – as St. Paul said (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

As has been said: “It is not being joyful that makes us grateful. It is gratitude; it is being thankful that makes us joyful.” Grateful people are joyful people.

Reality check, we know that life on earth is not always rosy, so to speak. So - Instead of yearning for a problem-free life, rejoice that troubles can actually highlight our awareness of God’s presence and the providence of God.

In the darkness of adversities, we actually can see more clearly the radiance of God’s face and His presence… that is the paradox of Christian life.

As Christians, we believe that there is life after death and life after death is bliss – perfect happiness, perfect joy. Our hope is not in this life only. That is why we are able to rejoice in good times and in bad.

St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Cor.15:19): “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all people.” … but we are not because we believe in the Resurrection.

So – let us accept the value of problems in this life.

Remember – the Good News is that we have an eternity of trouble-free living awaiting us in heaven. What a joyful hope!

As humans we have a material and a spiritual life. Unfortunately - some of us pay all attention to the material, neglecting the spiritual dimension. You can see it in the way people prepare for Christmas.  They take more care to decorate their homes more than they do to clean up their souls.  People are more concerned with the gifts to give to family and friends than the gift of self we should give to God.

Advent is a time to prepare not only materially but also spiritually for the coming of the Lord: his coming to us sacramentally at Christmas, his coming to us individually at our personal death - at the end of our lives, and his coming to us collectively at the end of time – His Second Coming -  and His coming to our lives every day.

The truth is:  Christ - Whom we are waiting for is already here in our midst… As we heard from the Gospel reading: “There is one among you whom you do not recognize.”

Let me lead you in a simple spiritual exercise:

My brothers and sisters in Christ – Now - look at the people next to you – go ahead - what or who do you see?  Look!  Look at them in the eyes… make eye-to-eye contact.

Would it not be awesome if we can all say: “I see Jesus, I see Jesus, I see Jesus…..”  Now - Tell the people next to you: “I see Jesus.”  Go ahead….

Now, you have to treat them and deal with them accordingly.

Just as we heard in the Gospel reading for the Feast of Christ the King on final judgment, Jesus said : “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Just imagine what our community here will be like if each one of us has this kind of awareness …being truly aware that Christ is living in our midst and everyone has this kind of humble and respectful attitude towards one another.  Christ ministering to Christ.  Would it not be awesome?

And – what is also important is Not only seeing Jesus in others but also seeing Jesus in ourselves. Christ means “the anointed” - and by virtue of our baptism in Christ – we ourselves are also “the anointed ones” – and so we can also say the same words of the Prophet Isaiah – as we heard in our first reading (Is 61:1-2a, 10-11) – which Jesus Himself proclaimed also at the beginning of His ministry:

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,

to heal the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and release to the prisoners.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is our marching order… the purpose of our lives.

We are all Temples of the Holy Spirit. We are the Body of Christ.

As St. Teresa of Avila said it beautifully: “Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

We are all called to be other Christs in the world.

Like Mary, we are all called to give birth to Christ in our lives.

God continues His saving work in the world through us.

As St. John wrote in his Gospel: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.  And so - Rejoice!  Rejoice!… God is with us in joy and in sorrow, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. God is with us. God is in us. … Emmanuel.

Amen. 

God bless…