Cheerfulness and Happiness in the World

 Father Pothin’s Reflection for Rogation Sunday (the 5th Sunday after Easter)

The Gospel. St. John xvi. 23.

Challenges have always been part of mortality and God’s plan for our growth. In each instance the people had every reason to be anxious, fearful, and hopeless, yet the Lord directed them toward a reason to rejoice; that there is cheerfulness and happiness in the world.

How does the Lord’s invitation to cheerfulness sound in our world today? When economic uncertainties, terrorist threats, and corruption provide top stories for the evening news, how can the good news of the gospel intervene? When we experience personal loss in so many ways and on so many days, what is left to be cheerful about?

Cheerfulness in the bible connotes a divinely assured optimism, “a deep trust in God’s unfolding purposes,” a grounded conviction that God will always keep His promises. When Christ proclaims “Be of good cheer,” He is not requesting a naïve response to life’s cruel twists and turns. Nor is He promising a pain-free life of constant bliss. Tragedy and hardship do not discriminate. The Lord clearly promises “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). When we are aware of our difficulties, acknowledge that the Savior overcame the world. He has lifted and strengthened and given vision to each of us in very personal ways. We will realize that we are never alone. We will feel a peace within even though the crisis without still rages. We will be filled with hope and even cheer.

–Fr Pothin