Despite its penitential overtones with shades of purple, Advent is really meant to be a time of joy. Paul tells us from his prison cell, “Rejoice in the Lord, always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” Zephaniah urges his community, “Sing joyfully! Be glad and exult with all your heart!”
Gaudete Sunday, the midway point of Advent, directs us toward joy and away from the more somber view that is so common through this season of preparation. Deep down, joy is what we want in life. The quest for joy is what motivates many of the choices we make. That likely prompted the question repeated three times in today’s gospel, “What should we do?”
We might have expected John the Baptist to reply, “Leave everything behind and join me in the desert; adopt a life of fasting and penance.” Instead, he calls people to fidelity in the very circumstances of their lives: those who have more than they need, share with those who have less; tax collectors, be honest; soldiers, do not take advantage of the vulnerable; parents, cherish your children; spouses, be faithful; neighbors, live in peace.
As we prepare for Christmas, “What should we do?” is a fitting question for us to ponder. What answer would John give us if he were standing here in our midst? I believe he would tell us to live out our beliefs for good reason. Our lives abound with ethical and moral decisions made in our homes, at work or school, and in the marketplace.
The Christ that John describes wants to sweep from our lives the chaff, like bigotry, selfishness, sloth, prejudice and hatred that prevents us from finding joy. Zephaniah foretells such will be our response when we see that God is in our midst, not to condemn or punish us but to love us.
So what should we do? The first thing we need to do is to consider how we treat other people, and then make every effort to be kind, considerate and loving. Just as little children are concerned that Santa knows when they’ve been naughty or nice, we should be concerned that God knows when we’ve been lovable and forgiving or not.
Imagine how different the world would be today if John’s advice had been followed ever since he first spoke his mind. But it isn’t too late for us to make a difference now, and in doing so, we can find the joy we seek. Recall how he dared the crowds to be more charitable, the tax collectors to be more honest, and the soldiers to be less brutal. He challenged them and he is challenging us to make a difference in the lives of others by being merciful.
How timely that this gospel is being proclaimed on the first Sunday of the extraordinary Year of Mercy. Our stained glass windows remind us of ways we can be merciful to others. We can feed the hungry and clothe the naked by supporting Good Cheer with our 3 P’s bins or Outreach; buying a present for the giving tree; lending a helping hand to a neighbor, visiting the sick, refraining from being abusive in any way, welcoming strangers by refusing to tolerate bigotry of any kind that leaves them feeling unloved and unwelcomed. How we behave towards others is a measure of how deeply we have welcomed Christ into our hearts.
Granted, the dreadful happenings of the world around us give little cause for rejoicing. In spite of sadness and suffering, many people still see beauty in the world and focus on that beauty to foster joy. They see life as a mixture of good and bad, light and dark, sadness and laughter. The more we honestly face the difficulties, own our mistakes, and open ourselves up to others, the more joy we will find in life. A friend reminded me recently of a beautiful statement by Blessed Columba Marmion, a Benedictine abbot in England in the 19th century: “Joy is the echo of God’s life in us.”
If joy is what we want in our lives, and I suspect it is, I am certain John would tell us that there is no better way for us to find it than to love tenderly, act justly, and walk humbly. Be mindful that we are all created in the image of God; the joy we seek will be ours in this lifetime and the next, provided we commit ourselves to following God’s way and shine the light of Christ to dispel whatever evil we encounter.
While we can’t obliterate the past, we can learn to live with the scars. We can learn to live with the disappointments our children have given us or our parents or our former spouse, or whomever. We can learn to live with that…provided we pave the way for others to also experience God’s mercy.
The world we live in isn’t all that different from the world of John the Baptist. It too was burdened with destruction and war. Lives were displaced and assaulted. Hopes had been dashed. We may be as skeptical as the ancient Israelites were, that joy can be had. That skepticism, however, need not prevent us from trusting that God is very much in our midst, encircling us with his love and mercy, seeking to grant us the peace and joy we so desperately want.
When we find Christ in our lives, our inclination will be to rejoice.
While we continue this earthly journey we experience a bittersweet mixture of joy and sorrow.