News junkies among us might remember that the State of Louisiana passed a law requiring every classroom, from pre-school through college, to post a copy of the Ten Commandments on a bulletin board. I presume that the point behind the law is so every student would know how to behave. (Although they probably could figure out that they should not kill anyone even without the Ten Commandments being posted.) However, as the interactions with John the Baptist in today’s gospel demonstrate, much of what we would consider appropriate behavior falls outside of the particulars of the Ten Commandments. Asking John “what should we do?” takes us far beyond a few “thou shalt nots.” In the New Testament there are commandments as well. Unfortunately for us, they aren’t all conveniently listed on two tablets. We must notice the commandments when they appear in the gospel stories. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us the command to “stop worrying.” Your heavenly Father knows what you need. A little farther in the Sermon Jesus gives another command: “stop judging.” “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” These commandments and others like them don’t easily lend themselves to a list that we can check off. They are the work of a lifetime.
St. Paul also was not shy about presenting commandments such as the one in his letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice.” To which we (or at least I) am tempted to say, “Always! are you kidding me?” How can you expect me to rejoice then my heart is breaking! How can you expect me to rejoice when I am afraid of what the doctor is going to say! How can you expect me to rejoice when I feel lost and alone and confused! But there it is, right in the Bible. Rejoice always. And he says it twice just to make sure that we get it. To make it even more challenging St. Paul adds to that “Have no anxiety at all.” Wow. Quite a scriptural admonition. Have no anxiety even living in a world with nuclear weapons, climate change, covid, 544 murders in Chicago so far this year, school shootings, an opioid epidemic, inadequate school funding, toxic politics, inadequate health insurance, an immigration crisis and plain old sickness and death. Have no anxiety! Rejoice always! Do you really expect us to obey those commandments?
What about Mary and Joseph? Could they do it? Did they rejoice always? When Mary was riding for ninety miles on the back of a donkey, being nine months pregnant, do you think she was rejoicing as she bounced along? And when Joseph was forced by the government to leave his home only to find when he got to his destination that there was no place for his family to stay, do you think was rejoicing? When they felt compelled to leave their own country with a newborn child because of the threat of violence to become immigrants in a foreign land did they rejoice? The Church includes this reading from St. Paul during the season of Advent to show us that their answer would be “yes.” No matter the trouble or difficulty they found themselves in, while they might not have enjoyed what they were going through, they retained the spirit of joy, of hope, of peace because they knew the Lord is near. Our joy can slip away because we have the illusion that things have to go a certain way for us to be happy. St. Paul, Mary, Joseph embody the truth that having God near brings joyful re-assurance no matter what.
The Apostle instructs us in how to maintain the attitude of joy: “In everything, with thanksgiving make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and minds.” Make your requests known and then you have peace in your heart, says St. Paul. Here is the Biblical response to our doubts – when we put everything in God’s hands we can rejoice. Notice that this surpassing peace comes while we are making the requests. If you are making a request you have a need, you are incomplete. But the Bible says it is making the request, not getting the answer we want, that makes joy possible. You see, Church, faith is not primarily about learning the catechism or reciting the Creed. Faith primarily is trusting that the God who made the moon and the stars, who guides the currents of history and reigns in triumphant splendor – that God is near to us and cares about you and cares about me. The divine plan is always unfolding in ways beyond our ken to ensure our eternal happiness. When we make our requests known to God we are throwing ourselves into the arms of the one who loves us just as we are. There is cause for rejoicing here for God has promised us that all will be well, all manner of things will be well. So let us bring our bruised and battered heart to God today. We will find joy there. We will find forgiveness there. We will find understanding there. We will find love.
Once upon a time a thief broke into the home of a holy hermit. “Give me your treasure,” he demanded. I have no treasure, said the hermit. However, I did find this stone as I was taking my walk the other day. Here, you can have this. The thief’s eyes opened wide in amazement. The hermit handed him the largest diamond he had ever seen. He gladly took the diamond and went away. The next day the thief returned. The hermit was puzzled. I have nothing else to give you, sir, he explained. The thief answered, “Give me the joy of living that made it so easy for you to give the diamond away.”
