How does it help to maintain a state of peace when we are locked in a world of deep-seated conflict and violence that allows unnecessary, and what appears sometimes to be, un-redemptive suffering?
The eyes of faith offer us metanoia; new eyes to see creation, to participate in a new reality, and to celebrate the incarnation of Christ risen, fully human, holy God among us.
Still, sometimes I feel that my faith is fragile.
And so I look to my community to help me.
Every year I go to Mexico to celebrate the Feast of Guadalupe and to spend some time with the small-base Christian communities there. Every time I go, I listen to speakers who offer an update on the social, political, cultural, and religious reality of Mexico and the impact the country experiences given its relationship to the United States.
And as I listen, I sometimes grow despondent and maybe even afraid; I’m not a fear-based person but when I see and or hear about poverty, the illiteracy, international debt, and guerrilla…
When I witness whole communities of widows, women and children left behind by their men seeking employment wherever they can…
When I visit the beautiful city of Cuernavaca that has 10,000 swimming pools but not enough water for the people to drink, it's easy to get anxious, even angry.
But then I meet Dona Micaela, a widow in her late 60s, who looks like she's 80 and lives in one of the poorest sections outside of Cuernavaca, who sees with eyes of faith.
These eyes of faith can see beyond the poverty, the hunger, and the despair.
Dona Micaela looks at the world and sees the beauty of the people, she sees the love of the people, and she sees Christ walking there in the dust next to her. She sees how her world is transformed through that love.
She rejoices in knowing that while she may not have a lot materially, she is not alone and she counsels us that is more important to be concerned with the needs of others.
In reading this Sunday's Gospel and in reflecting on how that gospel reading is incarnated in Dona Mika, I am challenged to let go of those voices of doom and despair that can throw me into a state of sorrow.
I am challenged to see the “small” joys that also reveal a truth about the world we live in.
When Jesus speaks about the world, he is very realistic.
He speaks of greed, betrayal, persecution. There is no suggestion that these signs of the world’s darkness will ever be absent.
And still, God's joy can be ours. It can be ours in the midst of it all, because it is the joy of belonging to the household of God, whose love is stronger than death.
This doesn't mean we deny the darkness; we are not naïve or uninformed, but we need to choose not to live in the darkness.
Our faith makes a claim on us that the light that shines in the darkness can be trusted more than the darkness itself.
These flashes of light - here and there - remind us to be grateful because those flashes of light reveal the hidden but real presence of God, and we know this because we see members of these communities heal each other's wounds, forgive each other's offenses, share their limited possessions and resources.
Every moment of each day we have the chance to choose between cynicism and joy, and believe me, I share with many of you that given the sociopolitical climate of our country right now, this is sometimes hard to do.
But every moment of each day we can choose thoughts that are cynical or joyful; every word we speak can be cynical or joyful; every action we take can breed cynicism or joy.
In light of this, as we look and live in a world full of conflict and violence, perhaps every step we take from this point on, every word we speak, every thought we have, will be one as we say in Spanish - Por La Vida.
Because we believe in the Dios de la vida por quien se vive.
Every choice for life in turn reveals more joy and offers more reason to make life a true celebration.
God's joy is ours to claim and as Jesus tells us in the gospel.
Do not let our hearts be troubled or anxious.
And as song writer Laura Story states:
What if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know God is near?
May this Holy Season offer you the opportunity to see with the eyes of faith and a heart full of joy.