REJOICE ALWAYS
Paul, in his letter to the Philippines invites us to rejoice always: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. The Lord is at hand.” (Phil 4, 4.) The words of Isaiah also promote our hope and courage. “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.” (Is 35, 1-2.) Although for a moment we smile a little seeing these words of joy, soon we return to the complexities of our daily life which is burdened so much by the ongoing socio political and economic system. Although we enjoyed for some time the facilities of these sophisticated systems and the momentary joy of the promises of the markets, we are now finding it difficult to cope with their demands. Our pockets are very soon emptied by responding to the demands of day today life. Our mind is in constant cry due to greed and envy which is systematically nurtured by the globalized market. How is it possible for us to rejoice and be glad today in this situation of slavery?
John the Baptist who introduced Jesus to the people of Israel was little irritated with the way of being, doing and saying of Jesus. Since John the Baptist is a true representative of the popular religious consciousness of the Old Testament, he was expecting a Messiah who would upturn the ongoing unjust socio-political system with his man power and reestablish peace and joy in the society. But Jesus was presenting himself in an entirely different way. He did not speak against the oppression of the invaders or provoke public opinion against them. He seemed to address some personal issues of the individuals rather than public issues. Therefore John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask whether Jesus was the one who is to come or they were to look for another. With the disciples of John The Baptist let us also go to Jesus to understand in what way he wanted to establish freedom and joy in our life.
When we consider the life and teachings of Jesus we can understand that he wanted to cure and free the humanity from within. This is the reason why he became man. If the salvation of humanity was a reality coming to humanity from outside, it was enough for God to command it. He became man so that man may be transformed into him and be saved. Using some temporary signs and miracles he wanted to communicate to his listeners and to world at large that he was the revelation of the true human natural order. He is the Holy Way of human life prophesied by Isaiah: “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way…” (Is 35, 8.) Jesus envisioned that when each human being was transformed into him, then, those converted people would work like the little portion of leaven in the dough in the human society for its transformation. The Letter of James speaks about an important element for this gradual process of growth of the human community into the vision of Jesus Christ. (Jas 5. 7-10.) He calls everyone to be patient and asks not to grumble against one another. We are to wait in patience like a farmer is waiting for the fruits after providing water and manure for the plants. The peace and joy are offered to the people of good will who cooperate with God to establish this plan of salvation in patience, humility and mercy. It is to them Saint Paul proclaims to rejoice always. It is to them prophet Isaiah proclaims the words of eternal happiness and it is about them Jesus says that they will be considered great in the Kingdom of heaven. Consecrating ourselves with Jesus at the altar we are to decide to live a simple life, love to live with minimum things and thus share our life with our poor brethren. Let the Lord illumine our minds with his eternal wisdom so that we shall obtain joy and gladness, and the anxiety and sorrow shall flee away!
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