The Christian is a person of joy! A bold statement. Of course, you might say, if that were so, we would continually meet smiling people (and we would be smiling ourselves!), ready with a kind word, a friendly gesture, an act of peace. Instead, joy seems to have disappeared from the lives of Christians. Almost as if they had forgotten that they are children of the King and bearers of the Gospel, the joyful news! So the time has come to reclaim what is ours and return to being what we are: bearers of joy, bearers of the good news!
A name, a program!
Christian experience is rooted in joy. The theme of joy fills the entire Bible, and if we simply consider what the word “Gospel” means—good news—we return directly to the foundations of Christian joy, the kerygma, the joyful proclamation: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered, died, and rose again for me, for you, for everyone!
The Gospel: the root of joy
The Gospel opens with an announcement of joy: the archangel Gabriel brings Mary the good news that she will become the mother of Jesus, and it closes with the joyful announcement Jesus, risen from the dead, gives the women: rejoice! The hearts of the disciples of Emmaus are full of joy after recognizing the Risen One; the hearts of the disciples who leave the mountain after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven are full of joy. Jesus' presence in the lives of his disciples is therefore pure joy, a joy that arises from and is nourished by a relationship, an announcement, a certainty: I am not alone, death has been defeated, I am called to live forever! How can one not be joyful upon discovering something like this?
To be joyful, to be evangelical
If we start again, then, from the Word of God, we will rediscover what sometimes escapes us. Joy is not a fleeting and superficial feeling but the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in a heart, mind, and gaze capable of living in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ.
Why rejoice? Because the Lord is near, he is near to us. Saint Paul tells us: «Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: rejoice. Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near! Do not be anxious about anything, but in every circumstance, present your requests to God through prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus» (Phil 4:4-7). It is from life in God, from this intimate and constant union, that the Christian's joy is born, lives, and grows.
Joyful even in the darkness of life
If joy, then, springs from life in God, from being in relationship with him, then it is possible to be joyful always, in every circumstance, even when the climb becomes steeper and more arduous. We are once again enlightened by Saint Paul, who, at a dramatic moment - he was a prisoner in Rome and was about to be killed - could write: «Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that: we also boast in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience, patience proven character, and proven character hope. Hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us». These are the words of a man capable of joy, always, because he is rooted in Christ.
Joy, then, is rooted in hope: «Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, persevere in prayer» (Rom 12:12). And hope must be nourished day by day, drawing from the one source that is never without it: the Word of God.
If we have lost our joy, if we have never truly savored it, if we want to be joyful, and therefore evangelical, let us begin reading a page, a passage, or a verse from the Gospel every day, as Pope Francis recommends, and little by little, step by step, we will discover that joy accompanies us together with its sister, hope, and allows us to see beyond every single event the Risen One, Lord and sovereign, who reigns over all events!
