The Perspective of Joy
A Reflection on this Friday’s Gospel (John 16 20-23) - 10 May 2024
The Lord is never one to mince words when it comes to truth. How could He, who is Truth, do otherwise? Uncomfortable Truth, then, as it is today, is often rejected both by those who claim the name, “Christian” and those who revile the Truth as judgmental or antagonistic. Yet Christ cannot do otherwise. Can Truth change? Of course not. For then, it would not be true. That’s why, when the truth is uncomfortable, Jesus asks His disciples,
“Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67–69 NABRE)
Peter understands that truth cannot change to fit our faith but must shape it. Where else can we go?
The truth of today’s Gospel is that the life of a faithful Christian is not going to be easy. I write, “faithful,” because so many claim the name of “Christ” yet reject that which is uncomfortable, unsettling, unpalatable, or unprofitable about His teaching. However, we must hold tightly to Truth. The Lord tells His disciples,
Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. (John 16:20)
The promise of eternal happiness (beatitudo) follows every struggle in this earthly life if we keep our eyes on the Lord. In this, we keep suffering within the perspective of the promise of heaven. That is why a Christian remains steadfast in joyful faith in Christ, even amid misery. Just look at the Saints. Despite impossible odds and great suffering, a perspective of joy characterizes every aspect of their life.
This viewpoint is diametrically opposed to what is known as the “Prosperity Gospel.” The Prosperity Gospel is a teaching that faith, expressed through positive thoughts, positive declarations, and especially donations to a particular “evangelist,” will result in health, wealth, and happiness in each “true believer’s” life. Central to this teaching is physical well-being and material riches are God’s will for the faithful. Proponents of the Prosperity Gospel view illness and poverty as curses inflicted through sin. Jesus and greater faithfulness to the evangelist is the only way to escape the curse. Evil, both physical and moral, is a result of unbelief. (See Encyclopedia Britannica) How do you know that you are saved? You are prosperous!
Protestant Preachers Norman Vincent Peale, Oral Roberts, and Joel Osteen are just some of the false teachers of this doctrine. How many people have been driven to despair by such thinking while its zealots line their pockets with the money of those desperate for joy. Certainly, this is not what our Lord taught or lived. This is not truth, but a horrible, death-dealing lie. How does the “prosperity Gospel” measure up against Jesus’ persecution, suffering, and crucifixion? It doesn’t.
Terrible things do happen in our lives. Human sickness, suffering, and pain are reality in this world gone astray. This does not mean that the Lord is the author of evil or that He is inflicting suffering upon us. God permits evil. He never inflicts it. He allows evil because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it. (CCC 311) God, who is love, can do nothing less.
Love requires a decision to will the good of the other before your own. It is sacrificial by nature. One suffers for love. Each soul has a choice: love God and neighbor, or join the worldly, frittering away life with quick-fix pleasures, doing what makes “me” happiest, the most comfortable. The Lord tells us that there will be suffering in the life of the Christian, but an inexpressible and irrepressible joy awaits the faithful.
Reflect today on this! This fallen world is not what God wants for us, it will pass away. In the new heaven and earth,
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NABRE)
Our joy is rooted in Christ and the promise of heaven. Physical or moral evil can be a result of our sin, but often, it is just something that happens to us. It is our determined faith that somehow God will bring about good from evil, love from hate, and life from death that orients our perspective toward joy. Even so, in the words of St Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go?” Believe the promise! When we experience the joy of heaven, everything we have suffered on earth will seem to be infinitesimal in comparison to the eternal beatitude of paradise. Joy is the peace of the martyrs and the strength of the saints. Joy is the perspective that the Lord wants to give us today.
End Notes
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). 2nd Ed. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000. Print.
New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.
Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (2024, March 12). Prosperity Gospel. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/prosperity-gospel
My faith sharing group discussed this issue just yesterday. We reached, thanks to the Bible and teachings of the saints, the same conclusions you have. Your reflection is confirmation for us!!!