Joy to the Weary
ONE
Our world is weary. We’re weary from mixed or deceptive messages, weary from seeking peace and not finding it, we’re weary of feeling judged and attacked. The soul of our culture is sick. Our world cries out, groaning in labor pains until now, waiting for something, though it knows not what (cf. Rom 8:22). St. Paul tells us in Romans; “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.” (Rom 8:5-7.) The conflict that we’re seeing in the world, then, stems from a deeper conflict with God. So, how do we enter into the season of Advent with a sense of Joy? For one simple and important reason: Jesus tells us to. “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). And, He is coming again! This is what we celebrate in Advent: not just the fact that he came once 2000 years ago, but also that He is coming, and indeed will come this Christmas, by grace, into our souls. “Shout for joy, rejoice, exult with all your heart…the Lord is in your midst” (Zephaniah 3:17).
TWO
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2). Jesus is the light of the world, a light so brilliant and magnificent, that those who follow it will have eternal life, and will never really die! We will just change lodgings. The darkness can’t overcome this light, even though it will try and will, at times, seem to prevail. These apparent successes, though, are only momentary episodes that give the illusion of victory for evil. Through these trials, allowed by God, Jesus strengthens and proves us, making us ready for the joys that are endless and for the ultimate victory that is coming. The enemy knows this. Therefore, he acts in haste because his time is short (cf. Rev 12:12). He wishes to drag into hell as many souls as possible, as quickly as possible with his allures, lies, and temptations to keep people from recognizing the truth. Yet, as St. Augustine insisted that “the happy life is joy based on the truth. This is joy grounded in you, O God, who are the truth.” (Confessions 10, 22, 33). This truth, incarnated in Bethlehem, invites us into union with him, so our joy will be complete, full, and endless. Prepare this Advent season for your endless joy!
THREE
The last line from today’s first reading from Isaiah says; “For over all, the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain” (Is 4:6). The liturgical prayers and readings of Advent express and arouse our longing for Jesus. Saints, like Theresa of Avila, exclaim; “O sweetest Jesus, you come to me with infinite love and the abundance of your grace; You desire to engulf my soul in torrents of mercy and charity in order to draw it to you. Come, O Lord, Come! “(Way of Perfection, #40). The weariness of the world only points to this longing. The world itself is groaning and awaiting fulfillment in Christ. Therefore, perfect happiness cannot be found here, and yet we hunger for it. As CS Lewis stated, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” (Mere Christianity, p. 119). This other world, this heavenly world, comes to us in Jesus, comes to us in the Eucharist, and comes in a special way at Christmas! Lord, increase our longing. Increase our ability to discover. Increase our joy this holy season, in you!
FOUR
British poet William Wordsworth wrote a beautiful poem entitled The World is Too Much With Us, the first stanza of which reads; “The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” Advent is not just a time of longing and waiting, it is a time of emptying our hearts of their sordid boon, of the wasting of time and effort on things that cannot last. So, let us practice some form of self-denial, not as ends in and of themselves, but as a means to be emptied of self-love and be filled with Divine Love; so that this emptiness can be filled with Jesus so His joy may be ours, and therefore made complete. (cf. Jn 15:11).
FIVE
Joy is linked to innocence. When I was young, the joys of this season were tied to the charm of a child’s reality. A world in which a man can encircle the globe merely to give goodies to undeserving children was truly a joyful world and not altogether unrelated to the Christ-child. Catholic intellectuals like GK Chesterton argue that such a world is not a mere fantasy. In fact, that world has more in common with the real world of Heaven brought by the Christ child than the modern world. This cold world of rationalism, technology, and materialism robs the created world of its innocent enchantments and wonders, and, as a result, of life’s joys. Chesterton once wrote; “What has happened to me has been the very reverse of what appears to be the experience of most of my friends. Instead of dwindling to a point, Santa Claus has grown larger and larger in my life until he fills almost the whole of it.” (GK Chesterton on Santa Claus). For him and for the innocent Christian, the world of joy is an enchanted world, one filled with wonder and surprise, surprises that come from a mysterious and benevolent but powerful person somewhere beyond the horizons, who comes in our midst to dwell. And this grace sleeps in a crib amidst animals, incarnated, revealing all is right with the world, and will be forever. May this Advent find the manger of your heart empty and readied to be filled with both longing and joy. Come, Lord Jesus! Give joy to the weary.