Jesus makes it very clear that His mission is not only to give us joy, but to complete it (Gospel of John, 15:11). On this third Sunday of Advent, which is called Gaudete Sunday, meaning Joyful Sunday, we need to ponder Jesus’s sublime message of joy.

The joy of the Christian is a sharing in the joy of Christ who overcame suffering, opposition, rejection, fear and even death itself. The gospel is all about this kind of joy. It is the joy that never fades for it gives energy to faded hearts, rejuvenates the prematurely old, restores life to arid souls, and finds joy in everything, even suffering.

This joy wells up from the deep recesses of the human soul. It is not to be achieved by living on the surface but by penetrating the deepest truths of ourselves through the grace of God. It is not the same as happiness which is only a by-product. Joy is deeper and more permanent. It is a quality of the soul that has experienced the light of the Lord’s kingdom.

The joy the Lord gives us is the grace to go beyond appearances, to examine our life styles with a view to making them more Christ-like. The sacrifices we make to follow Christ in order to enter into His joy is worth it for He gives us a new spirit: the Holy Spirit. To experience this new spirit we must be prepared, as we saw last Sunday, to put aside old ways; that is, old ways that are selfish, dysfunctional, joyless. What a blessing it is to be able to do this! What joy we bring to others when we show them love instead of hatred or jealousy or anger or pride or greed!

The gift of joy is one of the most valuable gifts God has given us. It manifests itself and flows out into an unlimited variety of experiences and new awakenings. Our renewed spirits can shake with joy again at the many experiences of new life: the incredible beauty and interconnectedness of nature, the joy of couples celebrating their union together, the special beauty of dedicated and unselfish lives, the joy of watching innocent children frolicking on sandy beaches or in schoolyard playgrounds, the graceful appearances of those who possess this gift without fear of life or death. Nothing in this world can impart to you or deprive you of this joy which you can carry with you wherever you go and experience wherever you are.

This is the joy which the Lord gives. It is the joy of the soul which He calls “complete” because it encompasses every other kind of joy. It is the joy that is permanent because it is an interior quality that never fades away. So, make it your special project this third week of Advent to spread joy wherever you are, wherever you go, and with whomever you meet. Do not hide it “under a bushel basket” but let it shine for all to see.

That is why St. Paul tells us, in today’s scripture, to rejoice always.

Fr. Hugh Duffy