Great joy

It has been a most harrowing week for Newtown, a week which no one in their worst nightmares could have imagined.  Tears flow from Newtown as we witness the pain and anguish of those who lost their most precious, their most dear.  Our hearts are broken.  Deep sadness and dark sorrow pervades our very souls.

But soon we will hear the angel declare – except for those of us of a certain age, it is not the voice of an angel at all, but that of a small boy standing next to a bedraggled tree, clutching a blanket in one hand and a shepherd’s crook in the other – “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be for all the people.”

The joy of Christmas is near upon us.  But where can we possibly find joy amid such sadness and woe?  We look for it wrapped in paper under the tree.  We look for it in the pleasure and comfort of the traditional Christmas feast.   We look for it in the warm company of family and friends.  We find moments of happiness, yet no joy.  For no matter how gaily decorated the tree, no matter how well-filled our wish list of presents, no matter how merry the family gathering, we cannot forget, we cannot stop sighing, we cannot stop longing to turn back the clock, to make what was done be undone. 

Yet the angel – God’s messenger – announces great joy.  The root of all joy is to know that we are accepted; that we are wanted; that we have a purpose; that we are loved.  Yet loving ourselves is never sufficient, for self-love only becomes real when it is affirmed by others.  Who does not feel joy at hearing those three simple words – I love you.  Certainly, we have felt much joy in the outpouring of love and support from around the world in the wake of our tragedy.  But all human love, by its very nature, must be temporal and finite, bound by time and circumstance.  For great joy, joy which wipes away every tear, joy which shines through our darkest gloom, we need great love, unbounded love, love without condition or limit.

In faith, this is what we celebrate at Christmas – joy inherent in and an indelible mark on every soul.  Christmas reminds us that as humans, we are created in the image and likeness of God, validated by the unconditional love of God, saved by the infinite mercy of our God who so loved us that he gave us himself to share our pain, to share our suffering, to share our death, and then to show us the way beyond the pain, the suffering and the death to eternal peace.  We celebrate joy as the present tense of hope.  Our hope for a future of eternal life in the peace of the risen Christ is made present to us in God’s infinite and eternal love made evident by birth of the child Jesus, Son of God, Emmanuel, God-with-us.  At Christmas, we celebrate that, in Pope Benedict's words, it is good that we exist; it is good that we are human beings, even in these most difficult times. 

Despite our sadness, we are filled with great joy, for we are loved beyond measure.  We are needed now as we have never been needed before to confront the culture of death that has entwined itself so deeply in the fabric of our lives.  We have a purpose - to share God’s infinite love and grace with all the people who seek joy outside of the source of all life, the source of all love, the source of all that good, all that is noble, all that is holy. 

Fear not: for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be for all the people.