On Tuesday evening of our Honduras trip we always celebrate the Eucharist with the team. One shared how in the pharmacy she had to explain to someone how to take her medicines. The problem was that she spoke very little Spanish. Her valiant attempts only resulted in more confusion, until something was said that was totally outlandish—and when both of them realized the misstep both broke out in belly laughter! “It’s been a long time since I had a good belly laugh like that,” she shared. Today Jesus teaches us about joy in parables. All five involve something good come to light: A mustard seed that becomes a bush, good for the birds; yeast that raises the whole batch of dough, a treasure discovered in a field, good fish among the bad, and treasures from the storehouse of a generous host. All of them show us that joy is found, not created, discovered, not given. It is found in daily living with God.

So what is godly joy like? First of all, godly joy is rooted in faith. It knows that the God of the universe created the capacity for joy, because it is of His own nature. I cannot help but think of all the sunrises no one ever sees because no one was there, and the flowers that bloom and wither without any prayer of thanksgiving because no one walked that path during those short days. And yet God does it over and over again: I believe God does it for His own sake—because He takes joy in His creation. And when we take joy in someone or something we share in God’s joy, and we are part of that creation. Jesus tells us that we are much more precious to God than even the most ornate of flowers. He takes joy in us—why should we do less? Therefore godly joy brings with it a sense of confidence. For that joy is not rooted in circumstances that happen to suit us, but in the fact that God takes joy in us and in all His handiwork. We trust God’s heart.

Godly joy is anchored in peace. There are many paintings about peace. The one I like best is of a little bird sitting on a branch over a thunderous waterfall with storm clouds building on the horizon. The bird is singing his heart out. He does not know that all will be nice, but he does know that in the end all will be well, so he confidently tosses his song to the winds. Jesus told us that peace-makers shall never be unemployed, for they shall see God. When you are in the presence of God there is incredible joy—not, perhaps, that joy that makes you jump up and down because something wonderful happened, but that peaceful joy that just makes you smile at the world. That kind of peace brings unity. It allows even men of women of differing understandings of the world and our faith, to walk hand in hand down the path that Christ has laid out for us.

Godly joy lives in abundance. The other night we were at extended family. Someone had brought brownies. The crust was crunchy, the inside was chewy. They were laced with bits of nuts, and a half a pecan graced the top. The person ahead of me in the desert line knows I cannot eat chocolate, so she was not saving some for me, yet she was busying herself daintily cutting one of these marvelous sweets in two! “Come on,” I said, “Live large! Eat it all!” I know you are all thinking, “Yes, if I ate it I would live large!” But calories aside, there is about godly joy a careless generosity that Jesus called “life abundant.” Of that abundance Jesus fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Out of that abundance Jesus offered the woman at the well water that would become a spring welling up in her. Out of that abundance Jesus spoiled the grave and redefined death for all time and eternity. Of that same generous spirit He has given us. God loves a joyful giver…a joyful giver is one so full of a sense of God’s abundance that it brings joy in being generous.

Godly joy springs from a healthy relationship with God. There are three legs to that stool, the first is piety. Piety is expressed in activities unite the heart with the heart of God. The first activity is Prayer. Prayer is my dialog with God. Just like spending time with a spouse talking about life, you should be spending time daily with God talking about life. The second activity is Worship. Worship is something you do, it is not something done to or for you. The first moment of worship is, of course, Sunday Mornings. It is a time when you come to offer your thanks and praise in word and gift. It is a time to join your heart to those of other worshippers of God in Christ. It is said, “I don’t get anything out of church.” If you are coming to get before you give then inevitably this is where you will end up. If you come to give your praise to God then you WILL get—the sermon will be icing on the cake! The second is personal moments of worship: Pray a rosary, walk the Labyrinth, take a walk in the woods, take time to just sit in His presence, do whatever it takes to open your spirit to His. These activities unite your heart with God’s. The more you do them the more your life will be rooted in heaven’s abundance, releasing in you a holy joy not dependent on what happens in this world, and so, beyond this world’s comprehension.

The second leg is Study. As any lover seeks to know his or her beloved, we should delve ever deeper into the mystery of God and His redemptive work. We will never plumb the depths, but the journey is worth the effort. Learn about God's love, that great essential power of God to create, redeem and transform creation. Learn about that great tapestry of God’s will for creation, that power of God to make all things freely done in this world contribute to that tapestry, and how Jesus’ death and resurrection lie at the heart of it all, expressed in the power of resurrection life. Learn about God's purposes for the world and for you, and how they are also your own best path.

Finally, the third leg is Action. The action of joy starts in the heart. There is a profound difference between: “You make me happy,” and “I take great joy in you.” The first is passive and hands the responsibility for one’s emotional state to another. This is unfair, unrealistic, and unhealthy, most of all, it is ungodly. The second is an act of the will, something chosen because of who one is, not what the other did or did not do. Paul says, “Herein is love, that when we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly.” To take joy in another is to do what Christ did. Service to others motivated by joy gives great happiness. It engenders a can-do attitude springing from a generous spirit and it expresses God’s joyful love of His creation.

For the fruit of the Spirit is…joy.

Fr. Paul Moore+