Joy, Hope, and Energy (midweek)

Joy, Hope, and Energy

Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message

July 5, 2017

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”

--Pierre Tiellard de Chardin, SJ

Again and again in the stories of Jesus in the New Testament, we see him telling little jokes, parables with pointed punch lines or monstrously humorous imagery.  We hear him say things like “Don’t worry!  No amount of worrying can add one moment to your life span or an inch to your stature!  God takes care of us.  Look at those wild flowers: the finest and most expensive clothing is no match!  Look at the birds in the sky:  they eat enough and to spare without a moment of fretting” (cf. Matt 5:25-35).   I picture in my mind Jesus saying these things with an enigmatic smile, occasional snorts of laughter, and occasional belly laughs.  

Joy in the face of the pains we regularly run into in life is the calling of the Christian.   “We are the Easter people and Hallelujah is our song!” said John Paul II.    Working from the foundational assurance that God is love, God is good, and God is here, we see beneath and beyond pain and trial when they occur.  Grief, mourning, and yearning after loss are all healthy and normal response to hard things.  But as Rumi said, “Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”

Sometimes, we need to roll up our sleeves and just reach out and grasp the joy already here at the heart of God’s creation:  “God’s Reign is at hand—be happy and change your way of thinking!” says Jesus (Mark 1:14).  Our smile comes from our joy much of the time, but sometimes, it is our smile that can of itself help bring joy.    Focusing on the positive also helps.  “Don’t cry because it’s over!  Smile because it happened!” (Theodore Geisel “Dr. Seuss”).    Living here in the beauty of Southern Oregon, we must daily remember that God placed every blade of grass and every flower out there to be a source of joy for us. 

Grace and Peace.  –Fr. Tony+