Deep Joy
Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message
May 27, 2020
“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
We have been seeing the ragged
effects of our long quarantine and physical distancing: frustration at those
who have a different sense of risk and comfort than we; blame and mutual
reproach to whose life narratives—at odds with ours—lead them to react
differently than we; a desire to simply make it all go away through force of
will, no matter how silly. And
anger: a lot of anger.
Such feelings contrast starkly with
my memories of a former mentor and spiritual director of mine: a Buddhist nun in a small temple in the mountains
north of Taipei Taiwan. She was
joyous. I can’t think of a time when I
did not see her smiling. She clearly
said and expressed her beliefs and opinions, but there was never a whiff of
anger or resentment in her. All she did
was done with joy, gratitude, and empathy for others, especially those who
disagreed with her.
We are called to be Jesus’
disciples. That means following him, and
emulating him. He had his enemies, to be
sure. And he said that in following him,
we would have enemies also. But he
taught clearly: love your enemies. It is
clear that on rare occasion Jesus got angry or impatient with those who used religion
as a means of oppressing others, spelling out in no uncertain terms where he
thought they had gone astray. But when I
think of Jesus, I think of him with that gentle smile of deep joy of my
Buddhist master, not with the condemning grimace of partisan purity found on
the face, say, of a Franklin Graham or a Pat Robertson.
We often think that following Jesus
means conforming to outward rules or higher principles, following his
“commandments” and keeping his “ways.”
But if this is mere outward conformity of actions or inward
thought-policing, it misses the heart of
the matter.
Jesus invites us into metanoia,
often translated as “repentance,” but better understood as “a change of the
mind” or “a turning of the heart.” Jesus
invites us to close relationship with God, who in his mind was not a warring
potentate or dour judge, but rather an intimate and loving parent. Gratitude should be our default. Gratitude drives out fear, alienation, and
contempt. It encourages empathy and
forgiveness. That is why he asks us to
pray “forgive us our debts as we forgive the debts owed us.”
The fruits of the spirit according
to Galatians are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (5:22). If we think we are being touched by the
spirit or spoken to by God, but what we get is anger, resentment, fear, and
contention, we are probably mistaken.
Joy and peace are what the spirit give, what God inspires in our hearts,
not partisan posturing or manipulation of others so that they give us what we
want in a constant struggle for dominance of submission.
Perhaps as a check on ourselves and
the lies we tell ourselves, we should ask ourselves, throughout the day, “Am I
smiling?” “Am I trying to understand
this person so different from me?” “Am I
thankful?” When angry, we should ask,
“What is it about me that makes me react in this way? What fears and
insecurities?” and not “why can’t that
creep over there just change?”
Note: We are awaiting final approval from
our Bishop for our plan to have limited face-to-face (F2F) attendance in the Church
at Sunday service, hopefully starting this Sunday (Pentecost). This is an occasion
of great joy for me, despite the much work and stress involved. Since most of our parishioners are in the
at-risk age groups, we will continue having live-streaming of services: https://www.facebook.com/TrinityAshland/ . Stay tuned in the next couple of days as we
put out how this is going to work. Initial
F2F attendance will be limited to 20 plus ministers and musicians, and all will
have to keep 2 meters physical distance from others and cover their faces. F2F attendance, given the limited numbers,
will be by invitation. If you want an
invitation, send an email to office@trinitychurchashland.org
or leave us a note at the office. Tomorrow's Thursday Noon Prayers will be by zoom, though we may be going to F2F meeting again in the near future.
Take joy, take peace. And remember to smile.
Fr. Tony+
A welcome homily.
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