Leon Bent –
The season of Advent is known as one of “Joyful expectation.” The Catholic Church names the third Sunday of Advent as Gaudete Sunday or “Joyful Sunday,” as our waiting for the Messiah is nearing its end.
Then, on 25th December we wish each other a “Merry Christmas,” as we share meals, exchange gifts and treasure loved ones at this time of year. Yet, the irony is that for many, the joy of Advent and Christmas is hard to come by. Yes, Christmas can be a time of joy for some, but it can be a time of sadness for others for a variety of reasons. It is not the same for everyone. Where then can joy be found? When we look into the Bible and our faith Tradition, we discover a number of important points about the experience of joy.
But the Catholic imagination ranges well beyond beasts wild and tame, beyond humans, however “sane” (for we all stand in need of the Savior’s sanation: Latin for healing). It breaks through secularity’s stifling “immanent frame” to catch the melody of angelic choirs whose singing glorifies the Lord. So, Luke recounts the angelic apparition to the shepherds announcing the Good News of the Savior’s birth. Not surprisingly, the angels cannot contain their joy and burst into song: “Glory to God in highest heaven; and on earth peace to men of good will” (Lk 2:14), and Isaiah 6:3 is sings mellifluously: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of your glory.” No words more magnificent have ever been uttered. Here was the Holy of Holies (Abraham Joshua Heschel, p.115), the six-winged seraphs chanted before His heavenly throne. Psalms inhabit the hills, the air is hallelujah. Hidden harps. Dormant songs!
I am also led to think more meditatively of those “animalia,” of the Stable, the Crib. These simple creatures mirror the Old Testament’s prophetic hope for the restoration of all creation at the Messiah’s coming. As we heard on the Second Sunday of Advent, Isaiah foresaw a Messianic age, when the wolf will show hospitality to the lamb, calf and young lion will happily converse, and lion and ox sit down to an amicable supper-fellowship – all emerging unscathed and refreshed and sprightly!
Nor could one imagine for a moment Gabriel traveling all the way to Nazareth only to pronounce greetings, “Hail, full of grace!” Clearly, he sang out, or at the very least chanted, the words, extraordinarily musical, lavish and profuse in the original Greek: “Chaire, kechairitōmene!” (Lk 1:28) And could he, though appearing in a dream, do any less for Joseph? Especially when intoning, with all reverence, the sweet name, “Jesus.” (Mt. 1:21) After all, the revelation of the Savior’s Name is not a mere matter of fact, but a happening of stupendous joy.
All these harmonious voices, of angels, animals, women, and men, conspire together. Each one’s song but a sounding of that magnum mysterium (O Magnum Mysterium is a text from the Holy Matins of Christmas describing the wonderment of the animals as they gaze on Christ: “O great mystery and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in a manger!”), the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent proclaims. “Emmanuel: God is with us” (Mt. 1:23) The voices harmonize, forming one exultant hymn, both, intimate and intense, scandalously particular and comprehensively Catholic. Its ‘serene tranquility,’ “unadorned, understated beauty” and “quiet radiance,” lift our spirits to receive the Boy Child, Jesus Christ!
In many a parish church, on Christmas Day, an intrepid choir will essay Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” Often the sopranos will strain to reach the high notes, while basses struggle to plumb the depths. But they will all sing out lustily, knowing that theirs is but the earthly echo of the angelic choir. And that long before Handel imagined aurally the earthly tones, it was already being sung in heaven – in tune, and in perfect melody.
Nor could one imagine for a moment Gabriel traveling all the way to Nazareth only to pronounce prosaically, “Hail, full of grace.” Clearly, he sang out (or at the very least chanted) the words, so musical in the original Greek: “Chaire, kechairitōmene!” (Lk 1:28) And could he, though appearing in a dream, do any less for Joseph? Especially when intoning, with all reverence, the sweet name, “Jesus.” (Mt. 1:21) After all, the revelation of the Savior’s Name is not a mere matter of fact, but a happening of stupendous joy – “a Name above every other name” (Phil.2:9).
And what shall we say of that wearisome journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem – eighty-some miles over four anxious days? How did they hasten the time and dispel fear? By singing the psalms undoubtedly. But also, later compositions: Zechariah’s lilting “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel who has visited his people to set them free.” (Lk. 1:68) And surely Mary hummed her own heartfelt, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.” (Lk 1:46)
Part of the reason why many of us struggle to find joy at Christmas is because we confuse joy with feeling good. In the world of advertising which peaks at times like Christmas, we are encouraged to feel good all the time, and to get whatever it takes to make our lives happier. The truth is that no amount of material things, stimulants, or comforts can compensate for a lack of joy that, resonates in the depths of their soul. The source of our joy is not in what we have. It lies in the promised Messiah’s birth for which the Jews awaited expectantly and on tenterhooks for.
Christianity is a religion of joy. It is truly “glad tidings” for humanity. As Christmas approaches, we may well experience feelings of melancholy or sadness for many legitimate reasons. But let us also have the courage to rejoice in the Lord—in his presence, in his gift of salvation, in our praise of him, in his ways, in our hope of heaven, and even in his Cross. God is the source of our joy, for he is the God of joy. The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of God’s act of love in becoming human through Jesus Christ. The biblical verse Luke 2:10 says, “Do not be afraid. I bring you Good News that, will cause great joy for all the people”.
Every Christmas season we hear “Joy to the World,” proclaimed in song, while painfully aware of a world in utter turmoil. In a 2012 Sunday Angelus address, late Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the “Woman of Christmas” – the Blessed Virgin Mary – and the experience of joy. He concluded: “In this season of Advent, Mary Immaculate teaches us to listen to the voice of God that, speaks in silence; to welcome His grace, which liberates us from sin and from all egoism; to taste, therefore, true joy.” And so, we pray: Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us!
Leon Bent frequently contributes Researched Articles to numerous Newsletters, Catholic Magazines and Theological Journals across India, and Digital Online Portals in India and worldwide, sometimes with a reach of 40 million Readers.