I was watching an Ascension Presents video today from Father Mike Schmitz, entitled “Advent: More than a Chocolate Calendar.” If you’re interested, you can view the video below:
Father Schmitz talks about how Advent is a time of joyful preparation for Christ’s coming. Then he discusses the difference between joy and happiness:
“Joy is the abiding sense of well-being that comes from the fact that I know that God loves me.”
“Joy is not dependent on circumstances.”
“Joy is a choice.”
“I know the Father knows and loves me, despite my circumstances.”
These messages about joy really speak to me because I have felt this way quite a bit lately. I feel truly joyful. But that doesn’t mean that life is perfect.
Life on earth can never be perfect because true perfection can only be found with God, which we will only encounter if and when we reach our ultimate goal of our union with Him in Heaven.
If joy depended upon our earthly circumstances, then nobody would be truly joyful. There will always be suffering, whether it is our own suffering or seeing the pain of others, especially loved ones.
There will always be issues at work, within our families, in our relationships, with our friends, within our country, politics, and natural disasters.
If we wait for perfection in order to feel happy, then we will wait until death.
But joy is different. I can say that I am joyful right now because I am so grateful for the ways that God has blessed me and the ways that my relationship with Him has grown. Sure, there are still obstacles, but I know that He is with me, guiding me through life’s trials.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” -Psalm 23:4
Father Schmitz says that Advent has three main goals:
- To worship Jesus
- To celebrate His coming
- To prepare for His second coming
He then poses an interesting question: “If Jesus came today, would there be any time for him?”
Our world, especially the United States, is so busy. This time of year is particularly stressful and overwhelming for many people.
Unfortunately, Christ often gets left out of Christmas. People instead focus on buying presents, putting up Christmas trees/lights/decorations, baking Christmas cookies, attending ugly sweater parties, sending Christmas cards, making gingerbread houses, drinking egg nog, cooking, and traveling to be with family.
None of those things is bad to do. But sometimes we get too wrapped up in the material aspects of Christmas instead of remembering the whole point — Jesus Christ.
Even traveling to visit family can sometimes hinder us. Some people end up missing church services because they are driving to visit family. But the holiday wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for Jesus. He needs to remain the priority, or else what are we really celebrating?
If Jesus came to your house knocking on your door right now, would you have time for him? Would you be able to fit him in somewhere in the middle of that to-do list and that schedule of events? Or would you be so busy that you wouldn’t even notice the knock at the door? Would you ignore Him and continue moving forward with the hustle and bustle of the holiday?
It’s great that people focus more on family during the Christmas season, but we must remember to also focus on Jesus.
He is, in fact, the reason for the season, after all.
Peppermintfrost 