I'm not preaching this weekend, but thought I'd share my Homily from Gaudete Sunday 2011.
Today is Gaudete Sunday, the day the church lifts its head from the
penitential mood of Advent to take a peek at the star that led the Magi to the
Manger. Today we are called to “Rejoice
in the Lord Always,”[1]
to celebrate the Coming of the Lord with joyful anticipation. And in today’s Gospel we learn why – the
prophecy is fulfilled; the blind see; the deaf hear; the lame walk; the lepers
are cleansed and the good news is preached to the poor. We learn that Jesus is the Messiah. We learn that we are destined for an eternal
life of joy.
That’s a lot to be happy
about. You’d think we’d be doing
cartwheels in the aisles. So why aren't we? Well, life runs roughshod over us sometimes. And when we get all tangled up in the
problems of life, we overlook the joy.
Do you remember Jacob Marley from A
Christmas Carol? He was a miserable
Spirit because he never rejoiced in life.
Listen to his words as he explains what he missed out on when Scrooge
reminds him that he was always a good business man:
Business! . . . ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. . . . Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to the blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!”[2]
Jacob
Marley never rejoiced because he never did anything for anyone. Jacob Marley learned too late that “joy’s
soul lies in the doing.”[3] And today’s Gospel tells us just that. Jesus doesn't define himself as the Messiah
by telling us who he is – he shows us what he’s done. Jesus lived the corporal works of mercy – he
lived a life filled with great joy.
The joy of doing is all around us,
right here in our parish. Did you know
that we have a prison ministry that visits the women at the Edna Mahan
Correctional Facility right here in our own parish? Did you know that we have a ministry that
helps stock food pantries for the poor, and a ministry that cooks for the
homebound? Did you know that we have a
social justice ministry that delivers clothes and other household needs to the
poor? Did you know we have a bereavement
ministry that supports those who grieve?
Did you know that we have a team of Eucharistic ministers who bring the
Blessed Sacrament to the two nursing homes in our parish and to the sick and
homebound? Did you know that the
wonderful people who support these ministries are some of the most joy-filled
people I know? There’s a connection
here.
The joy is in the doing – I learned
that lesson myself this past week. Last week was a tough week for me on many
accounts. It certainly didn't feel like the “Hap- Hap- Happiest Season of All” to me; I think I would have slapped
Johnny Mathis if I had to hear that song one more time. So to top it off, the due date for turning in
my Angel Patrol gifts was fast approaching, and I hadn't bought a thing. For those who may not be familiar with it,
Angel Patrol is one of the local programs where you buy gifts from a needy
family’s wish list to help make their holiday a little brighter. My family has made it a tradition for the
past few years, but Ebenezer Scrooge here didn't have the time and was in no
mood to play Santa Claus.
So I ran out to the store with my list
and started shopping frazzled and frustrated.
And then I was overcome by an emotion I didn't expect. It wasn't joy – that would make this homily
much too easy for you. It was
sadness. It broke my heart to think of a
single mother who couldn't afford even the basics for her daughter. It humbled me to think of the humility it
must have taken for that mother to ask a stranger to help buy presents for her
daughter. My attitude changed – I had a
strong sense of purpose. But I still
wasn’t feeling very joyful. Hang in there,
you know it’s coming. The joy came when
I dropped the presents off at the YMCA.
The joy came when I saw the hundreds – yes HUNDREDS – of gifts lining
the walls, covering the tables and desks, blocking the walkways and stuffing
the corners. The joy of giving was all
around me - literally. Knowing that I
live in such a loving, giving community pulled me right out of my own little funk
and gave me great joy.
I admit that I smiled when I put on
these vestments this morning. Not
because I look like a big piece of Bazooka bubble gum. I smiled because they reminded me of the joy
they symbolize. They reminded me of the
joy I receive from my role here as servant.
But most importantly, they reminded me of you. They reminded me of the loving and caring
community that you are. They reminded me
of how you bring Christ to me – how you open my eyes and ears, how you heal me
and how you bring the good news to me.
They reminded me that I have every reason to “Rejoice in the Lord –
Always!”
[1]
Philippians 4: 4. Gaudete Sunday is named after the first word of the Latin Introit
to today’s Mass – “Gaudete in Dominum
Semper” – “Rejoice in the Lord Always.”
[2]
Dickens, Charles, A Christmas Carol
(Ann Arbor, Borders Classics, 2003) at 17.
[3]
Shakespeare, William, Troilus and
Cressida, Act 1, Scene 2.
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