Whose Joy? 誰的喜樂？

Third Advent Sunday, Year C
Theme: Whose Joy? 誰的喜樂？

We have lived many Gaudete Sundays before, but today I asked “Whose Joy?” for the first time. “Of course our joy”, many would say. Correct, but not totally! You are right when you do not say “my joy” because this answer is too egocentric. The joy of a single person does not last. For example, the joy of a champion in annual sport events does not last longer than a year. The joy of the champion and that of a first-born will not be confined to the parents but all family members will share it. Of course, the joy would last until the birth of the second and the third child/medal etc. following the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility! In short, when we “pool” our joy together, the joy will be greater and will last longer. One more example, we see from the news, how Syrian citizens took to the streets to celebrate the collapse of the Assad government and their joy is great and wide. Moreover, I am sure the Syrians are not the only people who rejoice. There must be other people elsewhere in the world who also rejoice but we know not. Knowing who they are may give us a greater understanding of global politics. Therefore, the “whose joy?” is a relevant question. Furthermore, if this joy is shared by all humanity and for all ages, it must be the greatest joy in the world.

The first reading of today sheds some light on the question. It talks about the restoration of Jerusalem/Israel. Naturally, the Jews would be joyful. However, there comes a verse, “The LORD, your God is in your midst, a mighty saviour, who will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, who will sing joyfully because of you” (Zephaniah 3:17). Not only Jews but God also rejoices in the restoration of Jerusalem/Israel too! How can we not recognize this! God has chosen a most stiff-necked people (Deuteronomy 9:6) to be His inheritance (Psalms 33:12; Isaiah 63:17; Jeremiah 10:16; Ezekiel 22:16; Zechariah 2:16; Malachi 3:17). Therefore, God rejoices when He sees Israel prosper! Of course, Israel is only a symbol, a representative of all humanity. What does God rejoice in humanity? Elsewhere God told us what He does not find joy in, “For I find no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies --- oracle of the LORD. Turn back and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32) But God also hints and tells us that He rejoices in our being alive because “He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive” (Luke 20:38). When we repent and turn back to Him, we become alive. Jesus makes this clear in His parables of the Lost Sheep/Coin/Son saying, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance” (15:7; 10); and “But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (15:32). Therefore, in this Gaudete Sunday, we should be joyful. How can we be joyful? We should repent and turn back to God, each of us in our personal ways.

In the gospel reading today, we read of the teachings of John the Baptist who proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3b). His teachings on repentance are very pragmatic and agree with the Catholic Social Teachings nowadays. So when the crowds asked him what they should do, the Baptist replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise” (3:11). This is exactly the “option for the poor” teaching which the Catholic Church advocates. Many parishes in Hong Kong are visiting the homeless and parishioners are generous in donating supplies to help the needy. Indeed, parishes are becoming logistic centres of charity to help the socially marginalized in Hong Kong. When tax collectors came and asked what they should do, the Baptist replied, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed” (3:13). Tax collectors were doing their jobs in the full view of the people. They were not cheating but working through an unfair social structure/institution. So, it is a matter of social justice that John the Baptist was preaching. As public figures, be they civil servants or corporation executives, they should not abuse their public power to fatten their own pockets. These two groups of people had the intention to get baptized but Luke is silent on the intention of the last group. Nevertheless, this last group, who were “soldiers”, also asked what they should do. It was extremely unlikely for them to be Roman soldiers who were the oppressors. They would not welcome the coming Messiah. The “soldiers” were more likely to be soldiers of Herod Antipas the tetrarch or Temple guards who would take part in the arrest of Jesus in the future (22:52). The Baptist replied, “Do not practise extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages” (3:14b). It was and still is easy for soldiers/police to abuse the weapons they have in hand. There were/are not many differences between bandits and soldiers in ancient times and nowadays. Sometimes they even worked/work together. The Baptist was telling them not to abuse the physical power they possess to satisfy their own desires. In fact, each one of us has the tendency to impose our own will on others. With the backing of more powerful technology, we are more able to force others to satisfy our desires or punish them if they don’t! Frustrated, we would bully people into doing our will! Suicides because of internet bullying are not unheard of in the present age of Information Technology. With the advent of AI, the situation might be even worse without proper regulation on the use of AI. The Baptist denounced it. All of us have a certain amount of authority in our tuft. John the Baptist warns us against power abuses.

Beloved brethren. All these structural abuses stem from greed, which in turn stems from egocentrism. We have learnt that such joy does not last. In particular, when we build our joy upon the sufferings and pains of the others, it is morally wrong. As Christians, we cannot do that. Our joy must come from elsewhere. That is why we opt for the poor and fight for their rights. In so doing, we show God’s care for the socially marginalized and we partake in God’s joy because He finds pleasure in our turning back to Him and do His will. Earlier I mentioned the Church has become a logistic centre of charity. However, it is a pity to see some parishioners dump the things they find no use to the Church and hope that the Church will channel their rubbish to the homeless and the socially marginalized. How regrettable that they trample on the dignity of the homeless and socially marginalized in doing so! I wonder if they are able to find joy in their donations. Beloved brethren. I hope you are able to find joy on Gaudete Sunday. God bless!

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Picture Credit: globalnation.inquirer.net, wikipedia.org