Thessalonians 5:16 gives one of my favorite commands in all of scripture. It reads, “Rejoice always.” Alternatively, this can be read as, “choose joy at all times”. Being my wife’s favorite scripture, I am constantly reminded to choose joy. When the door breaks, don’t curse the doormaker, choose to be joyful that you get to learn a new skill. When money is tight, don’t fret, choose to be joyful for the other things in life that are going well. You get the point.
Right now, the world needs a little more joy and a little less ‘other’. Joy, much like negativity, is contagious. I find that when I’m surrounded by positive people, I am infected with their positivity and share that with others. The other side of that is true as well; surrounding myself with people who constantly put down others and treat them as lesser causes me to have thoughts of the same. Joy, being contagious, is an epidemic that starts with us. We are patient zero. If we can allow ourselves to be infected by the joy of Jesus Christ in all things, those around us will feel that palpable sense and it will catch on in their souls. I think this is something fundamental to how we interact and the cause and effect of our choices.
You are always a person infected by your immediate surroundings and circumstances. But you have a choice and so do I. Do we choose to remain stuck in the anxious moments, the awkward situations of wanting to love and be present while also dreading the encounters? Or can we be bold and state our desires to our loved ones? Telling someone you love that they, too, can choose joy, that they are hurting you and you want that to change, is a hard but necessary path to joy. True joy. You are not responsible for their response. If you speak the truth in love, in kindness, then perhaps their response will mirror that. It won’t always be the case, but if they love you enough, they’ll take your words and be able to come back at some point. They may disagree, but they’ll at least hear you. Then, natural, bilateral conversations can occur and joy can be found again.
Joy is your choice. It is your right. It is your salvation from the dark. So, when things and people in this world cause you to doubt yourself, to stop loving yourself? The answer is simple.
Choose joy.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+