THROUGH UNTRUE

Today is Gaudete Sunday, a time to smile, laugh, and rejoice. It reminds us that the best way to convey the joy of Christmas is to apply an effective strategy in advertising: "The medium is the message." You express joy by embodying it. 

Being joyful is particularly crucial today when we are constantly bombarded with news about wars, death, sickness, natural disasters, poverty,

 unemployment, and criminality. Regrettably, many people have lost sight of the true meaning of joy, thanks to advertisers who use Christian words to promote their products. For instance, they have appropriated joy to name a detergent. The subliminal message is, if you buy this product, you will experience joy.

St. Thomas Aquinas eloquently defined joy as "habitual cheerfulness that allows us to take pleasure in fun, wit, childlike playfulness, humor, and laughter even amid trials, and adversity." The last eight words are crucial because they tell us that joy is compatible with suffering, pain, and seemingly insurmountable difficulties. As one poet writes: "Joy lies cheek to cheek with the deepest sorrow, and we cannot appreciate one without experiencing the other."

Joy comes from the conviction that even if we do not have everything we want, even if there is a shortage of love and justice in this world, and despite the avoidable and unavoidable evils that afflict us, we still have many things to be thankful for. Joy is not something that happens to us; rather, we make it happen by tapping into our great resource of gratitude. 

One of the main obstacles to joy is our morbid fear of suffering. We look at every problem as a killjoy and avoid it at all cost. But when we become accustomed to comfort and security, we weaken our ability to endure pain, so even the slightest discomfort becomes excruciating.

Christian joy is not a product of denial. It is unlike that of Buddhists who face suffering with passive resignation, or that of fanatic activists who delight in overthrowing the established order through violence. Both try to escape suffering by denying the present.

Jesus was not an escape artist. He courageously faced life with total receptivity. Perhaps that is why He taught us that only children, lovers, and the truly humble can experience joy. Children, in their simplicity, give themselves to the present in total abandon. Lovers see reversals and disappointments as nothing compared with the security of being loved. And the humble are content with who they are and see recognition and applause not as a means of self-validation. 

This is perhaps why Jesus called John the Baptist "the greatest of all men born of a woman" (Matthew 11:11). John the Baptist's greatness stemmed from his deep humility. Even when people considered him as the messiah, he pointed to Jesus whom he described as, "the one who is coming after me, the one whose sandals' strings I am not worthy to untie" (John 1:27). John the Baptist accepted his limitations, viewing them as opportunities for growth rather than as shortcomings. This created in him a sense of authenticity, allowing him to experience joy even amid uncertainty and persecution.

Joy also comes from a strong faith in God who is the source of all comfort and resilience. Faith enables us to navigate through adversity with a sense of hope and trust. As Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote: "He who has a WHY can bear any HOW."

So today, let us rejoice and be glad. Let us cast aside our frowning faces, lest we forget what faces are for.