Friday of the 3rd week of Advent (Year I)
Isaiah 56:1-3,6-8 | Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,7-8 | John 5:33-36
All who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. (Isaiah 56:6-7)
Have you ever gone to church and asked yourself in the middle of mass:
Why am I here?
How much longer is this going to take?
I used to ask myself that in my younger days, until I realized that it was probably because I didn’t want to be involved in the celebration around me.
All that joyful singing? Not feeling it.
That insightful homily? Can’t remember what the priest said, and why does he have to go on and on?
It’s often said that “body language tells all”. Crossed-arms-over-chest speaks volumes, and the bored/glum face just reinforces it. I don’t want to be here.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
In the matrimonial arena, we’re often advised:
If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.
But I’m firmly convinced that it’s always been misquoted:
If you can’t be with the one you lust, love the one you’re with.
We’re always looking for that new thing that gets our mental, carnal, or other juices flowing, and when those juices run stale, we move on. The abovementioned saying reminds us that the here-and-now possesses an importance all its own:
the menial job that keeps food on the table and throws up interesting situations each day, when looked at in the right frame of mind,
the wife who isn’t half the looker she was 25 years ago, but still makes sure you and the kids are fed and clothed well, and the house in decent condition,
the God who hangs in effigy, staring in silence at you each Sunday, waiting for you to draw closer.
So instead of impatiently waiting for the agony of mass to end, let us instead heed the words of that old hymn, “Joy in the Lord”:
Joyful and trusting, we come to you, O Lord
Ready to give all to you
Let us embrace the opportunity to seek peace in the chaos of modern life, to open ourselves to the Lord and to our fellow worshippers. For as the hymn further observes:
Why are men cast down and so sad in their looks?
God is always at their side!
Open up and cheer up. Amen.