Christmas message from Bishop Wester

Intermountain Catholic

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As we celebrate Christmas this year, we hear the echo of the angels’ chorus, "Joy to the World," throughout our land. Sadly, after last week’s unspeakable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, we are not feeling very joyful. Instead, we are in mourning for those innocent young lives as well as the other lives snuffed out in such a senseless act of violence. This is a time for grieving, for giving vent to our pain, and not for rejoicing. But there is something deep down within us that will not let the joy of Christmas be vanquished, even by the terrible turn of events last week on the East Coast. Christmas still has something to say to us, and the joy announced by the angels in Bethlehem will not fade away, especially if we grasp the true meaning of Christian joy.

What does the Church mean when she speaks of joy at the coming of the Lord? Is it a "party joy" or an "opening Christmas presents joy" or even an "achieving laudable goals joy"? No, it is not. Rather, Christian joy refers to the profound peace and inner wholeness that comes from being in right relationship with God, a relationship that has a future.

The message of Christmas as announced by the angels to the shepherds is that only a right relationship with God will bring us true joy. Neither material things, states of being, public acclaim, power nor financial success bring true joy. There is a certain fleeting joy that comes with these realities, but this joy is superficial and leaves us wanting for more. Just look at the number of wealthy, powerful or popular people who are depressed, never satisfied with what they have but always searching for happiness somewhere else. St. Augustine knew this centuries ago when he reminded us that our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord. St. Ignatius built on this truth when he wrote that we are created for one purpose only, namely, to be one with God forever in heaven. Only a relationship with God can bring true joy. This is why Jesus Christ became one of us, so that we can be restored to a right relationship with God.

To be in a loving relationship with Christ is to be affirmed at our deepest level, giving us a sense of self-worth and the sure knowledge that our lives have meaning. This in turn allows us to love ourselves in the proper sense of that term and to love others as ourselves. A right relationship with God opens up so many other relationships in our lives, all of which lead to true joy. Only love can completely fulfill us because human beings were created for love by a God who is love. Created in his image, we have love as our only destiny, and love is itself the only way to achieve that destiny. As Jesus told us, "I am the way, the truth and the life." In other words, Jesus is the truth who leads us along the path of life by loving us into being and being our love.

A further aspect of the joy experienced through God’s love is that it has a future. Christ is always coming to us: He is the God of more. Celebrating Christmas every year is symbolic of the infinite ways that Christ comes to us every moment of our existence. Christ loves us with an everlasting love, which is a critical aspect of our joy. Joy that lasts only for the moment, even if the type of joy brought about by love, is not ultimately satisfying. Love must always grow. Like a river, the more it changes, the more it grows, the more it remains itself. If love were only for the present, it would doom us to a life of regret, looking at what once was and is no more. Christ’s love is not like this. It is forever and therefore it is a source of unending joy, of unending possibilities. This is why the sacrament of marriage joins a husband and wife in a permanent bond, a bond meant to last an entire lifetime. Indeed, because Christ is an intimate part of that sacrament, their love can be seen as unending: Christ’s love comes with an eternal seal. Our annual Christmas celebration is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to be with us always until the end of time, at which point we will be one with him forever in heaven. Now that is true joy!

True joy, then, is not a matter of passing fancy but rather a love affair with God and others that takes root in this life and blossoms in eternity. Because we have a future with Christ, our most painful present will be transformed into a redeemed past. In other words, there is always hope in Christ, there is always new life in Christ, there is always a tomorrow with Christ. All the loves of our lives are subsumed into Christ’s eternal love for us and our eternal love for him. That is why in the end, death itself will die and we will be one with Christ and all the loves of our lives forever.

This is the perspective Christmas gives to our grieving nation and especially those grieving parents in Connecticut. This moment is profoundly painful and will continue to be for the unforeseeable future. Indeed, those grieving will never fully recover. But even this tragedy cannot eradicate the kind of joy we celebrate at Christmas. God is near; God is with us; God is Emmanuel. And in God, we have a future, and those children and adults killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have a future, a future that can never be taken away by violence or any other means.

God is with us and we rejoice, even if through our tears.