God wants us to be happy. This can be a hard message for Catholics to believe. After all, we have a rich heritage of guilt and suffering. "Catholic guilt" needs little explanation for most of us, as there has been a tendency for centuries to focus on our sins and responsibilities.
In the same way, the redemptive power of suffering is also often highlighted in Catholic culture. Of course we all sin, and we all are responsible to serve God and the church. And we all suffer, and can find comfort in the fact that we follow a God who suffered for us. But we are also called to enjoy God, and to experience the joy that comes along with redemption.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus introduces the central commandment of his ministry and the church that is to be built in his name: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." Jesus also points out: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete"
Now, let's get this straight. Jesus does not say: "This is my commandment: Remember your sins as I have reminded you of your sins." Nor does he say, "This is my commandment: Suffer as I have suffered." Finally, Jesus does not say "I'm telling you these things to make sure you feel guilty and unhappy."
Jesus calls us to love one another. And he says he is telling us these things so that we will have something wonderful that no one can take away from us: his joy.
God wants us to be happy. That doesn't mean God will give us everything we ask for, or spoil us like a lazy parent. God wants us to experience joy, complete joy. That is why we are called to repent of our sins. That is why we are allowed to suffer. That is why we are called to the most important commandment of all --- to love one another as God has loved us.
Love and joy. These are the characteristics that are at the heart of the Christian faith. It can be easy to lose sight of these virtues if all you do is listen how Christians are depicted in the media. We are presented as chiefly concerned about ballot initiatives and federal legislation, and about policing other people's behavior.
Maybe some people experience their faith in these terms. I haven't met anyone who does. Most of the people I know who are trying to follow Jesus Christ want the things Jesus talks about in today's Gospel: Love and joy.
Of course, we can all get distracted by traditions in our own churches, too, and dwell disproportionately on our flaws and failures instead of dwelling on God's love and God's goals for us. Jesus died for us so that we might live, not so that we could die a thousand deaths of remorse and self-punishment each day.
We are called to accept responsibility for our failures. And we certainly must learn to suffer at times as Christ did. But most of all we are called to love one another and to experience and share the joy of Christ. Bill Peatman writes from Napa.
|