It has been ages since such a simple nine word sentence has had such a profound impact on my thought process.
As Christians we are constantly made aware of the need for good works. We understand the divine nature of charity and social justice. We are called to argue for the right of the unborn to live as fully formed human lives. We are asked to feed the poor and to educate the illiterate. Our calling is to make a postive difference in the world around us. God created us in his image so that we could love him to fullfil his commandment to love one another. And so we all do those things to some degree or another. We are adept at recognizing needs in the world that need to be addressed.
For most of us, however, doing good works is thought of as a sacrifice, to give of ourselves to others means that we have to give up something whether it ir our time, our talent or our wealth.
St. John Vianney, however, turns the whole concept of meeting needs as being an active sacrifice on its head. Serving the needs of the world is not obligation but an opportunity. We are not asked to give with regret and sorrow but to accept the opportunity to serve as a gift.
To love and serve the Lord is not a burden but a treasure. The Lord will accept all that we have to offer in His service but it is not his will that we do with grudging reluctance. It is His will that we greet the world with same joy that He greet us.
The reflection that accompanied the quote that leads this posting called it a discription of a call to vocation. In broader terms it not just a call for ordained vocations but also a call to the priesthood of the laity.
I see this call expressed all around me. Stopped at a stopped light this morning, I listened as a mother in the car next to me sang joyfully to her her children in the backseat. Her voice was not angelic or sweet but it was filled with harmony of love. I saw it again when a junior high aged boy stopped in the store parking lot to help an elderly lady pick up a sack of groceries she had dropped. My friend has long hungered to be able to go back to Indonesia to do mission work under the cloak of other work and she was able to accomplish the goal this summer. She found great joy in being blessed with the opportunity to meet a need in the world. The children in the car had a need to be loved and the older lady needed assistance in gathering her groceries before a passing car flattened them. The needs of both young and the old were met by others who were clearly happy to be of service.
I have to asky myself why is it difficult to be joyful when I consider the needs of the world that are made known to me? In my case it is because I worry that I will be asked give up something I need or want. Being self centered makes it difficult to meet the needs of the world with joy. I have learned, however, that happiness is a choice we make. Each day I have the ability to chose whether or not I am happy. If I make the choice to be happy then ability to serve with joy follows with ease.
Lord, we pray that we can focus on chosing joy so that needs in world we encounter become gifts not obligations.
Peace be with you.
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