Is There Joy Amidst Tragedy?

Today I taught one of the most difficult lessons to my (nganh thieu) kids.  It was about the liturgical seasons, specifically Advent since we are in it, and especially Gaudete Sunday since it is the third week.  Gaudete means joy.  This Sunday, the color of Advent switched from violet to rose signifying that Jesus’ birth was near.  For that reason, it was time to be excited, to be Christmassy, and to rejoice.  But amidst of what took place in Newtown, CT this week, what is there to rejoice in?  Can we be joyful when the unimaginable and heinous act of violence took the lives of 20 children and 8 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School?  The second reading from Paul to the Philippians this Sunday tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  Always?  In the wake of evil, joy would be the last of my reaction.  Anger, bitterness, agony, numbness, confusion, anguish, and sorrowfulness took over.  

At the end of the lesson today, I gathered the kids together.  I prepared a short speech to invite them to be in solidarity with the family and friends of the victims and pray for them.  As I was speaking about the incident, I felt overwhelmed and began to tear up.  I was struggling to speak and completely forgot what I was about to say.  It really didn’t matter.  The whole class was absolutely quiet.  Silence for a whole minute as they watched me scramble to find words.  I have never seen them so quiet like this ever before.  It was very serene, it was a prayer in itself, a prayer of compassion.

 I cannot answer for them why God allows something like this to happen.  There is no satisfactory answer to why such evil exists in this world, but we do know one thing.  That one thing is described beautifully and is the shortest sentence in John’s gospel: “And Jesus wept.”  Jesus wept because he understands what sorrow is and what it is like to lose a loved one.  Jesus was with Mary and Martha during their painful time and he is with the families of Newtown today in their mourning.  Our God is the God of Emmanuel, the God of With-Us, the God that accompanies us through our times of sorrow.  It is God’s desire to join us in our prayers and share our sadness and anger when life turns bitter.  

Rejoice in the Lord always. So how are we supposed to rejoice always in times like these?  Because our God weeps with us and promise us eternal life.  Jesus came to Lazarus’s tomb and removed the sufferings by raising him from the dead.  In the end, death is not the last word, nor is violence.  James Martin, SJ, tells us to distinguish the difference between joy and happiness, “Joy, deeper than happiness, is a virtue that finds its foundation in the knowledge that we are loved by God.”  We celebrate the joyful part of being Christians every time we remember Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus didn’t leave us with the image of suffering, but his last act before ascending into heaven was lifting up his hands to bless us and sending the Spirit to continue loving us to the end.  We are the people of Easter, the people of joy.  There are times that life becomes unbearable, the true joy that can be found in those situations is trusting that a loving, compassionate God is carrying us through all circumstances.    

  

Thankfully, wherever there is hardship and tragedy, one can find wonderful beauties.  There are many caring people in this world to rejoice about.  There are people helping one another, sacrificing for one another and loving of one another.  One such example is Victoria Soto, the 27-year-old first grade teacher at the elementary school who hid all her students in the closet and became a human shield.  She was gunned down by the shooter after she told him the kids were in the gym.  All 16 of her students are safe and alive, but she herself is dead.  Her selfless act of love in my opinion makes it possible for us to restore hope in the goodness of humanity.  We celebrate Victoria Soto’s life because she is a hero, and that gives us something to be joyful about.   

As we approach the season of Christmas, may our God, who is the God of compassion, the God of joy, embrace and welcome the souls of the innocent children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School into the glory of God’s loving arms.  May God comfort the sorrowful hearts of their families and friends.  Amen.     

   

  

The Will of God Will Never Take You, Where the Grace of God Cannot Keep You

The Will of God

The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

Everything happens for a purpose. We may not see the wisdom of it all now, but trust and believe in God that everything is for the best.

~ Author unknown


It takes great faith to surrender all our worries, anxiety and control in life and put all our trust in God. During Advent, we are reminded like Mary to be not afraid. Although we are unsure of what our call will require of us in the next moment, tomorrow or the years to come, we are invited to follow Mary's example and say, "Yes!" to God. May God strengthen our trust so that we can be faithful servant to the world.

“Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).

Hearts Turning to Christ

Today marks the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, one of the amazing pioneer and missionary that have transformed the European church to a world church. Since the time of Paul, he is said to have converted more people than anyone else with his most significant work in India. Francis traveled on his life journey full of treachery at every turn in a hidden world at the time. He left his family and friends behind to plant seeds for Christ and wanted Christ to be praised from all peoples of the world.

As we draw close to the mystery of the incarnation, let us ask him to strengthen and bathe us under the light of the Advent hope. Fr. James Field says his journey was a journey "towards" and not a journey "from" as he left Europe. As we begin the first week of Advent, let us pray that we always have a door propped open for our Lord's grace and love to enter. With so many things that can easily distract us from this holiday season from finals to bargains, let us refresh ourselves for our journey "towards" Christ. We run so quickly sometimes and we need a little Advent to stop and let our souls catch up with us.


PRAYER

Lord, may Christmas shine with light and meaning, may my re-found soul glow with light and peace, and may the lessons of the manger convince me that God places his greatest trust in ordinary lives, including mine.