3rd Sunday of Advent, B December 17, 2023
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Fly! Go on, start flying! It’s not like you don’t know how, there are about a million people in the air right now. So why aren’t you flying?
Probably because it’s not as simple as just deciding “I’m flying now.” We can only fly in specific circumstances. It is the result of several forces beyond our control, it took us thousands of years to figure out how to do it. Flying is the fruit of a complex process. Despite being possible, it still depends several things in order to happen: the right vehicle, fuel, the right weather conditions, and you choosing to put yourself in the right place at the right time.
Still, when your boss tells you to fly to New York for work, you know he doesn’t expect you to immediately lift into the air that moment. No, you begin taking the steps to make that flight possible. He asks for the results and expect you to take the steps necessary to get there.
If we can be reasonable with flying, why aren’t we that reasonable with the gospel? Why is that, when Jesus tells us to be holy or to turn from sin, we act like he’s being unreasonable? Why do use the terrible excuse that “I can’t just do that right now” as a reason to completely ignore what God asks of us? When St. Paul tells us to rejoice always – as he does in the second reading – do we really think we can just use the excuse “I’m in a bad mood” or “life is really hard right now?”
If we’re honest with ourselves, that’s often how we act. We’re willing to connect the dots on temporary things like a business trip, but we somehow expect the eternal realities of our faith to be easy, requiring no thought or effort. But the vast majority of what it means to live as a Christian is the fruit of a whole way of life.
St. Paul is not saying “be bubbly and fun all the time.” He is saying we should always live a life that bears fruit in joy. Then he tells us exactly how to that: “Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.” Think of this as a kind of shopping list for Christmas, realize that what Jesus wants for his birthday is the gift of your joy. That joy, like many other kinds of gifts, has some assembly required and Paul’s list shows us what is needed to “rejoice always” the way Jesus wants us to.
“Pray without ceasing:” This doesn’t mean you have to literally say the rosary at every waking moment, but it probably means you need to pray more than you do. Sometimes prayer feels like work, but like arranging a flight for your job, it’s work worth doing because it pays off. That payment is lasting joy. Scheduled, deliberate, regular prayer is essential. It is a bare minimum that you pray every day in a deliberate way whether you feel like it or not. Include in that prayer a deliberate choice to give thanks in all circumstances, even if that means thanking God for the suffering that reminds you that this life is passing.
Yet, there is a kind of prayer that actually can be “without ceasing:” the prayer of desire. St. Augustine interprets this verse to mean we should inflame our hearts to constantly want God. We cannot say or even think words of prayer at all times, but a desire can be unceasing. And stirring up desire is something we can do – we do it all the time. Looking at food can stir up hunger. Looking at nice things can stir up greed. Looking at certain images can stir up lust. Well, stir up a desire for good instead of evil. Look at God. Look at him in adoration, in scripture, in spiritual books that depict the beauty of God, in the lives of the saints. Listen to and sing along with beautiful chants and hymns and songs focused on the goodness of God – music is a powerful shaper of our desires. Stir the desire for God, keep it inflamed, and you will begin to pray without ceasing. Then you will begin to taste the fruit of joy.
“Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.” This doesn’t mean you should chase down every self-proclaimed prophet on Facebook who claims to see the Virgin Mary, but it does mean you shouldn’t assume that supernatural things never happen. A life of serious prayer is a strong step in the right direction. The next step is to challenge that voice in your head that says “God’s not listening. Miracles don’t happen. You’re not loved.” It is to listen to the voice that says things like “say a kind word to that stranger. Give that homeless person your shoes. Turn off the videos and call someone.”
“Prophetic utterances” aren’t always dramatic or focused on predicting the future. You just heard a bunch of prophetic utterances. The whole first reading from Isaiah is still a prophecy. It is only partially fulfilled. John the Baptist tells us Jesus is coming – he still is! The Church has not stopped teaching and preaching in 2000 years. Listening carefully to Church teaching and to the preaching of holy men and women in the Church is an exercise of hearing prophecy.
Of course, to “test everything” is essential. Not every devotion is good. Not every sermon, article, or blog post is right. There are many fake prophets. We “test” these things by comparing them to the faith handed down to us. If something doesn’t feel right, look to the Catechism, to Scripture, to the teachings of saints and doctors of the Church. Evaluate whether or not something shows the fruits of the spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, and conversion. Don’t feel like you have to have all the answers. If it keeps you close to the Church, the Sacraments, and the saints, good. If it drives you away, let it go.
Finally, “refrain from every kind of evil.” Sin may be fun, but it kills real joy. Avoid sin. Go to confession. Don’t just avoid mortal sin, start in on those venial sins too. Every kind of evil.
It’s quite a list of things, so it helps to summarize them in terms of the goal: to “rejoice always.” Sometimes, yes, that does mean forcing a smile, saying pleasant things, and singing along despite not feeling like it. But it’s not all willpower. Just as we cannot fly without something to lift us, so we cannot rejoice without God whose love made us and whose grace lifts us up. God is faithful, he will accomplish it. It is the reason God becomes man, the reason he takes on flesh and lets that flesh be tortured and crucified. All your trials, all your suffering, all the efforts at prayer, repentance, and acts of love. These and more till the soil, dig out the rocks, and plant the seeds all so that we can bear the fruit of joy beginning in this life and increasing until one day, in heaven, we will completely, perfectly, and eternally fulfill that wonderful command of God to fly always on the wings of joy.