Homily 474 – Advent | Week 3 | Year B
“Rejoice in the Lord always!” Paul, just put a sock in it. Have you seen 2020? “I say it again… rejoice!” No, really. Stop.
If ever there was a year when we didn’t feel like rejoicing, this is it. Yet neither St. Paul nor the Church is saying that we ought to feel happy right now. Maybe you do and maybe you don’t. No one can command you to feel happy. But the word “rejoice” that Paul uses implies not a feeling, but a choice. We don’t often control our circumstances and we hardly ever control our feelings, but we do control what choices we make in response to them.
Paul not only says to rejoice, but he says to “give thanks in all circumstances.” The word in Greek is εὐχαριστεῖτε (eucharisteite). You should recognize the word “eucharist” in there. The best action we can take in the face of suffering is to give thanks, to find something, anything, for which to be thankful. We as Catholics also know where to go to give that thanks; we go to the Eucharist.
A word that helps me more than “rejoice” is one I learned from Jocko Willink, a former Navy Seal who now trains business leaders. He says that whenever he encountered problems and obstacles to be overcome in the military, he would stop and immediately respond, “Good.” Didn’t get the pass to go on leave? Good… more time to train. Don’t have all the men you’d want? Good… the ones you do have get to prove themselves. No matter what happened, his response was “Good.”
Much of 2020 could probably be summed up with the word “Bad.” While rejoicing might be a hard word to hear right now, thanksgiving should be our response. I’m with Jocko. When we realize that everything is an opportunity to trust and thank God, then even when things seem bad, our response can be, “Good.”