November 25, 2009

Perfect joy

By Jonathan Reyes

Christianity is a religion of paradoxes; which is to say, Christianity reflects reality.  The world is no simple place, as the late G.K. Chesterton was fond of pointing out.  In one of his most popular works, “Orthodoxy,” Chesterton made the memorable observation that the world seems to be mathematically rational on the surface, but upon further investigation it often defies our expectations. 

For example, we observe the human body and note two eyes—one on the left and one on the right—two ears, two arms, two legs, two hands and two feet.  And just when we are sure we see how it all works, we find that the human body has a heart on the left and then on the right … the symmetry is broken.  This is what makes Christianity so probable.  It catches the unexpected.  It knows when there is only going to be one heart. 

One such paradox that speaks to this season devoted to giving thanks and to giving to others is the truth revealed by Christ that to gain one’s life one must first lose it.  Or in the language that Pope John Paul II made popular, only in the total donation of self can one find oneself. 

Giving to others is rooted in the scriptural idea that to those whom much is given, much will be expected, which is to say that giving is, in the Catholic social tradition, rooted in justice.  Those who have more than they need also have an obligation to share with neighbors whose basic needs are not being met.  Still, at the heart of this paradox is not justice, but love.  And love asks not that we give of our excess only, but rather that we give everything we have, even unto death.  It is the message of the Cross that the Love that saved the world gave unto death.  And when we are baptized, we enter into this death, as St. Paul says.  We have died to the world, so that we may live for Christ.

And this is a paradox.  Our happiness depends on our being willing to give everything for others.  The more perfect the sacrifices we make out of love, the more perfect our joy.  It has often been said that God cannot be outdone in generosity.  This is true.  But it cannot be reduced to a simple mathematical proposition, as is sometimes asserted.  If I give $10, I do not expect that within a year’s time say God will give me $100 in return.  Rather, God gives something more.  If I give of my wealth and my time, the return is something that neither rust, nor moth, nor flame, nor height, nor depth nor even death itself can take from us—namely, joy. 

There is a certain happiness we often experience when we give.  There is a satisfaction that comes from knowing that we have helped others.  This is true on a natural level of all giving.  But for those who dare to give out of love for Our Lord, who are willing, because they know that Christ is present in the least of those around them, to give to the point of real sacrifice, the Lord promises something more than the fleeting happiness of good feelings.  He promises his everlasting joy.  Because God cannot be outdone in generosity, he takes our temporal gifts of money and time, and gives us an eternal reward—the joy that comes from knowing his unfailing love in an ever deeper way. 

How deep are the mysteries of God!  How unsearchable His ways!  That to lose all is to gain all.  Of course we are not all in a position to live voluntary poverty.  But this season allows all of us to consider that God may be inviting us to make special sacrifices—not because he needs our time or money, but rather because out of love for us he desires to share more of his joy with us.  May the Lord grant us the grace to see that the more we lose ourselves for others, the more we find ourselves in him—and to be found in him, is to have perfect, eternal and unshakeable joy.

Jonathan Reyes, PhD., is president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver. Reyes is a former professor and the founding president of the Augustine Institute Catholic graduate school. 

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