30th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle
B
Jer
31: 7-9
Ps
126
Heb
5:1-6
Mk
10:46-52
The Lord Has Done Great Things for Us, We are Filled
with Joy
Some folks are people
of joy. You can see it in their eyes. Even when they are suffering you can
still see it in their eyes. Pope St. John Paul was a man of deep joy. You can
look at pictures of him throughout his life and he always had a twinkle in his
eye. Even when his body was wracked with the pain of Parkinson’s disease, even
at the end, he still had that look. Take a look at the poster in the gathering
space on your way out and see the look of joy on Pope Francis’ face. His second encyclical is Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel.
You know the look. It
is a sense of serenity and almost of mischief. It is the look of someone who
knows something. It is the look of a person at peace.
Joy is not happiness.
Happiness is a feeling. Joy is a state of being. Happiness is fleeting. Joy is
eternal. Happiness can be self-directed. Joy is the result of giving of
yourself to others.
Sometimes our joy
springs up to the surface so hard we cannot contain it. I remember the look in
my bride’s eyes as we made our promises to one another on our wedding day. I remember
the deep joy I felt at the birth of our children. It was a physical feeling.
You know the feeling, like your heart is going to burst out of your chest. You
cannot keep it in, it is so strong.
But in those other
times, when events are not bringing your joy forth, it is still there, like an
inner current. You know it exists by the way you react to and handle life’s
setbacks. I have seen that look in dying people’s eyes. I have seen that look
in the eyes of their families as they wait.
Because joy is always
based on hope.
We await in joyful hope
for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ. That’s what joy is – hope. The joy
of a wedding day is based on the hopes and dreams of the life the couple have
before them. The joy of a newborn baby is all about the hope in the potential
that child has within it. The joy of the suffering and dying is about the hope
of the resurrection.
Without hope there can
be no joy, only despair.
Circumstances and
events can bring our joy to the surface. Bishop Robert Barron once said that
one of the strongest proofs that God exists is the reality of beauty. It is in
beauty that we find good. We find good things beautiful, and they give us a
visceral, physical and emotional reaction, and that’s as it should be. Even
people who have never professed faith in God still react with joy at the beauty
of nature, art, music, and people. That’s how God has chosen to reach out and
touch their souls.
But we have something
more, don’t we? Do you get an emotional feeling when you come to Mass? You
should. What is more beautiful that our churches? We surround ourselves with
beautiful buildings, with beautiful artwork and furnishings, with candlelight
and incense. We wrap ourselves in wonderful music and prayers. But you know, it
isn’t the beauty we surround ourselves that creates our joy. Our joy has led us
to create these beautiful things. Because we are compelled to try to give
expression to our joy, even though we usually fall far short.
I get emotional during
Mass sometimes. Sometimes I get such a deep rush of joy while proclaiming the
gospel that I choke up. There are many times that a piece of music causes the
joy to well up within me. Beautiful music always causes me joy, especially at
Mass, and especially when I hear my daughter sing. I get a rush of joy when I
see the look in your eyes when you come forward to receive communion,
especially when I haven’t seen you in a while.
I often stand at the head
of the communion line and some song or other is being sung that brings up a
joyful memory and I get teary eyed. Sometimes it’s just the tune or melody that
touches me. Or someone steps forward to receive and there are tears in their
eyes and I wonder why. Is it because they have been away from the Church for a
long time and have finally reconciled themselves with God? Is it the joy of the
Israelites returning home after years of exile, like we heard about in today’s
first reading? Have they finally received the forgiveness they have so
desperately sought for so long and now are part of the Body of Christ again? Or
are they tears of sorrow because of some tragedy in their lives, and they are
coming to the table to receive the strength they need to get through one more
day?
We find joy in one
another. We find joy in our families, especially in our children. Joy is always
about your relationship with other people.
Do you ever feel joy at
Mass? If not, why not? If joy is all about hope, why wouldn’t we feel hopeful
at Mass? The Mass is the ultimate hope, the hope of our eternal salvation. The
Mass is structured to give us an emotional, intellectual and spiritual connection
with God, and it should cause you great joy. That connection brings us joy, and
joy gives us the connection.
Many of us were raised
to worship with deep piety and solemnity, and that’s a good thing. Solemnity
and joy are not contradictory. Have you ever celebrated a solemn Mass with a
huge organ and a choir where you didn’t really understand a word they were
saying, but you felt the presence of the Holy Spirit there? That’s also joy.
Solemnity does not mean dourness. Solemnity and piety are our ways of acknowledging
the awesomeness and power or our God, and the hope of the promise He has given
us. Respecting the Mass does not mean we have to look grumpy.
A lot of times when I’m
out driving I’ll pull up to a stoplight and the person in the car beside me is
just rocking out to the music. Really loudly. They’re just singing along at the
top of their lungs and don’t care who sees them or hears them.
Oh wait, that’s me.
Whatever, music has
that effect on us, doesn’t it? We sing because we are joyful and the action of singing
makes us feel joyful. We should all sing at the top of our lungs during Mass.
Would Thanksgiving
dinner be the same if everyone just sat there and said nothing? Or if just the
person at the head of the table did all the talking? It’s the same with the
Mass. We are all called to full, active participation in the Mass, and that’s
why it’s important that we hear with our ears and our hearts, that we pray
along with the priest, join in the musical celebration, and enter fully into
the mystery of the Eucharist, the sign of our greatest joy and unity.
Sometimes I see someone
out in the congregation who has a wide smile and a twinkle in their eye, and I
find myself looking at them all the time. We are drawn to joyful people, we
want to know what they know that we don’t know. I remember one time I was serving as the
deacon of the Mass during the adult confirmation at the cathedral with Bishop
Wester. There were about 150 people who were being confirmed that day, and so
it was taking a long time. Almost everyone who came up did so with either a
blank look on their face or a look of fear that they would do something wrong.
After about twenty minutes of this, a teenage girl stepped forward with such a
profound smile on her face. When the bishop said “Be sealed with the gift of
the Holy Spirit” she replied with a resounding “AMEN”, and then returned his
embrace with enthusiasm. The bishop
turned to me and said, “Finally, some joy”.
Isn’t that sad? All
those people were receiving the Holy Spirit into their hearts and souls in such
a profound, life-changing way, and only one of them had informed their face. We
today have been given the same wonderful gift, but has it brought us any joy?
We have been led in beautiful music, and we have added our voices to the
chorus. We have recited the Gloria together, a prayer giving glory to the God
who created us and has given us such blessings. We have sung Alleluia and we
will pray Holy, Holy, Holy. We should show our joy to those around us.
I truly believe that if
we do not ever feel a deep joy in our hearts and souls during the Mass or any
of the sacraments we will not truly understand what God is all about. We must
have a gut reaction to God, we must have that personal of a relationship with
Jesus, or I don’t think we can be joyful people. I remember when my son was
born, my firstborn. I couldn’t even stay in the delivery room I was so happy. I
had to rush out and call everyone I knew to tell them the joyful news. Joy
cannot be contained, it must be shared.
I think our Evangelical
brothers and sisters have something there when they pull out all the stops during
their worship. Or like the Charismatic Catholics do who met today/yesterday for
the Life in the Spirit Seminar. They let their joy spill out. I wonder how we
can fulfill our mission of going forth into the world, sent from this Mass, to
tell the world about the good news we have just heard and experienced, without
joy.
I wonder what someone
who had never been inside a Catholic Church or been to a Mass would feel and
think if they saw us worship on any given Sunday. Would they see joyful people
praying and singing and worshiping happily together? Would they be attracted to
that experience and to our community? I hope so. Joy is why I come. Joy is why
I am a deacon. Joy is why I stay. What about you?
“Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.”
That is the promise we
have received. That is the hope we have been given. What a wonderful promise.
What a wonderful hope. What a deep, abiding joy it can bring to us.
Let it out!
