Perhaps Gaudete Sunday can help to situate our appetite for happiness. Firstly, the Latin word is derived from the antiphon taken from Phil 4: 4-5 which also forms a part of the 2nd Reading. “Gaudete in Domino semper” meaning “Rejoice in the Lord always”. The change in the colour of the vestment suggests a break from the prevailing penitential mood because the Lord, our Redeemer, is near. According to the Prophet Zephaniah even God dances for us. Thus, when the Lord is with us, when He sambas for us, the proper posture is joy as Jesus Himself reminded the Pharisees that “surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them?”.
So, how should we outline this exultation? Last week, John the Baptist spurred those who sought him out to prepare themselves for the coming of salvation. The clue to our joy is found in their response. “What ought we to do?” Sinners of every shade and shape, converted by the Baptist, wanted to know how their transformation could be worked out in practice.
In today’s Gospel, we hear John speaking to three distinct groups of people—the ordinary crowd, the tax collectors and the soldiers. The answer given by the Baptist revolved basically around the theme of detachment in three simple areas of food, clothing and money. Those who have more should feed those who do not have enough to eat. Extra garments can be given to those who need basic clothing and finally those in power should never abuse their authority to extort from the poor. According to the Baptist, authentic conversion entails letting go of anything that can cling and choke the life out of us.
In the context of Christmas, a season generally steeped in plenty, and plenitude is often expressed materially. From the excess of mirth and merriment it is not difficult to conflate “joy” with material abundance or affluence.
Taking John’s counsel, joy springs not from acquisition but from detachment. Here, we are accustomed to think that detachment requires a stripping away of our possessions. Naturally that we tend to shrink or shy away from any action that suggests a forced separation. Psychologically, it is painful to be stripped of our possessions or to be deprived of our sensory securities because we love our creaturely comforts. The example of Jesus’ encounter with the Rich Young Man is a case in point. The young man was “sad” not because he was unable to dispossess himself of his wealth or detach himself from the good things of life. Rather his sadness was indicative of a heart that was not open to the possibility of joy—the chance to be filled with Jesus.
Detachment is more than the mere divestment of our wealth because there is no guarantee that a dispossessed person is joyful. Just because a person gives up everything, it does not mean he is going to be happy. This just highlights the point that detachment is an attitude which see everything in relation to having Jesus in one’s life. If freedom from a bad habit should be translated as freedom for a good habit, then detachment from possession should be translated as an attachment to Christ—to be taken up by and to be filled with the Lord. The Rich Young Man may have been blinded by his wealth but more than that, he could not recognise himself as one who can be joyful with the Lord.
If wealth tends to obscure our vision and if Christmas is a preparation for the coming of Christ, detachment, in the context of climate change and Laudato si, should mean a return to simple living, a refrain of the extravagance of excesses. It is not a kind of “killjoy” spirituality but rather it must come from an intentionality of living responsibly with respect to natural resources. This is the conversion that John the Baptist might be preaching about because Christmas always opens up the possibilities of fulfilling our wants rather than our needs. Today is 12.12, right? Lazada is a world of wants rather than needs. So, when we begin to live responsibly, this vision of life will allow us to view our celebration not only as a right but also as a responsibility. In a world overloaded by indulgence and extravagance, we moderate our lifestyle to counter overconsumption and wastage.
Thus, joy is more than the sensation we associate with happiness. Joy comes from the freedom that is built on a life which is in line with what the Church currently teaches in terms of stewardship. But more than that, joy is exuberant because Jesus is present. According to St Paul, “we see no answer to our problems but never despair, we have been persecuted, but never deserted”. For St Paul, joy never promises an easier life but nevertheless, we should not be deterred.
Finally, in proposing to the people what to do, it might appear that John was preaching “activism” but he was not. In recommending a simpler lifestyle, John was just pointing out that a freer heart will have space for others but ultimately a freer heart has room for the Lord. Nowhere was there any condemnation of riches because wealth in itself is not bad. However, without realising it, material possession has a way of corroding our vision, thus preventing from appreciating that the Lord alone suffices, that possessing the Lord, we will be joyful. Furthermore, we may have been brain-washed to believing that the goal of life is to be happy. Unlike happiness, joy is not defined by the absence of sadness or the absence of troubles. Rather, it springs from this knowledge that we belong to Christ and this knowledge remains even though circumstances may change. Joy breeds a kind of conviction that we are never lost, that we can never be lost because of Christ. If we are not convinced of Him, we can never exude Christian joy. Only those who are convinced of Christ can convince others. Gaudete Sunday: The Lord is coming. So, rejoice, for our salvation is near.
