The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8
“The American Declaration of Independence says we have an “unalienable right” to the pursuit of happiness. God created us to be happy and joyful in this world and the next, and Jesus says the same several times in John 14-17. The only difference between the two is that any happiness that is demanded from life never becomes happiness because it is too narcissistically and self-consciously pursued. The joy that the world cannot give always comes as a gift to those who wait for it, expect it, and make room for it inside themselves.
The first is self-assertion, the second is self-surrender. The first is taking; the second is receiving… When we set out to seek our private happiness, we often create an idol that is sure to topple. Any attempts to protect any full and private happiness in the midst of so much public suffering have to be based on illusion about the nature of the world we live in. We can only do that if we block ourselves from a certain degree of reality and refuse solidarity with “the other side” of everything, even on the other side of ourselves.
Both sides of life are good and necessary teachers; in fact, failure and mistake teach us much more than our successes. Failure and success were often called “the two hands of God” or the “paschal mystery.” It takes struggles with both our darkness and our light to form us into full children of God, but of course, we especially resist “the left hand of God” which is usually some form of suffering (read loss of control).
As in our Gospel today, it was the same suffering of the centurion’s servant that brought the centurion out of his comfortable house and that invited Jesus into that house. Suffering and solidarity with the suffering of others has an immense capacity to “make room” inside of us. It is probably our primary spiritual teacher.”
Richard Rohr in Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent (Cincinnati: Franciscan Media, 2008) 4-6.
As you are reading this Jenni and I are somewhere over the Pacific en route to Sydney, Australia. It’s a long flight from Los Angeles. We often say to each other that leaving America has been the most helpful way of seeing cultural dynamics and behavioral patterns within America.
Americans love their comfort and luxury, even if they can’t afford it. The society seems to be structured around preservation of personal happiness. This reading by Rohr helps illustrate a deep idea that we must grasp to prepare to receive the most generous gift of all time.
Again, Rohr states: “The joy that the world cannot give always comes as a gift to those who wait for it, expect it, and make room for it inside themselves.” While everyone in every country surely has their own set of challenges, we must all make room for the joy that has come into the world at Christmas.
This Advent, rather than pursuing happiness (think: trying to make everything perfect over the holidays) make room in your heart for whatever God sends your way. It may range from pure joy to “suffering and solidarity with the suffering of others.” Advent is about receiving what Christ offers; it beats anything else.