Fr. JC Maximilian

[I am sorry I am late posting this; just a busy time of year]

“Brothers and Sisters:  Rejoice always.”  So proclaims St. Paul in today’s second reading from his first letter to the Thessalonians.

But we may have many things that are distracting us from rejoicing.  Just take a look at some of the news from this past week.  The unemployment rate hit a 26-year high, and the experts warn that we could see 10% unemployment before things turn around.  Bank of America, Dow Chemical, 3M, and Sony all announced layoffs.  The “Big Three” automakers failed to get the bail out that they were hoping for from the Federal Government, leaving another big economic question mark for that industry.  Retail sales continue to fall as the recession continues.  Another public official has apparently betrayed the trust of the people, seeking to satisfy his own greed instead of the public good.  Even in the midst of the busy Christmas Shopping season KB Toys found it necessary to file for bankruptcy.  More locally, at this week’s Food Pantry meeting we learned that the number of people turning to the pantry for aid just continues to grow; over a thousand people received food from the pantry last month, and they gave out nearly 120 Thanksgiving baskets which is almost twice as many as last year.  Thank God for the generosity of all of us here at St. Theresa’s, and at the other churches that support the pantry, the Food Pantry has been able to keep up with the growing demands.

With all this gloomy news, we might be tempted to ask how we can be expected to rejoice.  This hardly seems to be the “year of favor from the Lord” that Isaiah announced in today’s first reading.  Yet, I am still vested in Rose vestments – the color of rejoicing.

There are three reasons for rejoicing, despite the news:  Jesus is behind us, Jesus is with us, and Jesus ahead of us.

Jesus is behind us.  At the first Christmas, Jesus entered into our human reality.  In becoming flesh, Jesus shared in everything that life brings us, except for sin.  We need only to think about the Wedding Feast in Cana to see Him experiencing life’s joy, and we only need to recall His weeping as He approached the tomb of Lazarus to see Him also experiencing life’s deepest sorrows.  We know that He was raised in a poor family, so it is not difficult to imagine Jesus going hungry, or sharing some of Mary and Joseph’s anxiety paying bills.  On the cross Jesus experienced the most horrendous injustice and agonizing suffering.  Whether we look at the crib at Bethlehem or the Cross on Calvary, both proclaim that God loves and cares for us.  Both give witness that life is NOT meaningless, as long as we live for Christ Jesus, and accept the strength that He alone can give us.  In the midst of our own suffering, anxiety, and pain we can rejoice because Jesus has shared it all.  He is behind us.

We also know that Jesus is ahead of us.  The one future event that is certain for all of us is death.  If we look at death as simply a snuffing out of a candle, then there can be no joy in it.  However, death promises so much more because Jesus has conquered sin and death by His own death and resurrection.  Now death promises us a great transformation.  Life in this world is full of limitations and suffering, but life after death, for those who have lived a life of Faith in Jesus Christ will be to the full.  All limitations and suffering will be no more.  God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.  The Faithful will enter into a life of perfect communion with God and each other.  All the deepest desires of our heart will be fulfilled, and we will rejoice for all eternity.

Yet, the past and the future are not sufficient reasons for rejoicing.  The other reason for our rejoicing is that Jesus is with us.  Yes, Jesus is among us right now.  John the Baptist, in today’s Gospel reading, told the Pharisees, that “there is one among you whom you do not recognize….”  How often are we like those Pharisees and fail to recognize the presence of Christ Jesus in our midst today, right now?  He is present in His Living Word which we have proclaimed, and He is present Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist we will receive at this Mass.  He is with us when we are feeling frighten and alone, when we are angry at the circumstances of our life.  Do we see Him?  Do we allow ourselves to encounter Him, so that we can receive His grace and His love?  Do we see Him in our spouse who does stick by us, in good times and in bad?  Do we see Him in our friends who give us a shoulder to cry own, or who will not just leave us feeling sorry for ourselves?  Do we see Jesus in the stranger who waves us to make the left-hand turn we have been waiting to make with growing impatience?  Yes, Jesus is among us!

We must be people of rejoicing, especially now when so many other people in the world may be tempted to despair because of all the bad news about the economy, the nation and the world.  We must say with the Prophet Isaiah: “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in God is the joy of my soul….”