Beyond the Feelings

16/1/2019

A Reflection on the Psalm for January 20th, 2019:
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

PSALM 96

R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.

R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!

R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He governs the peoples with equity.

R. Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

But I don’t feel like it.

I’m beginning to think I suffer from OTD. Ordinary Time Disorder. Tonight we took down our Christmas tree, dumped out the handmade Advent wreath, undressed the house of all its twinkling lights, and here we sit.

In our boring old homestead.

As my son announced he had taken down the last of the ornaments, my daughter bellowed out, “Nooooooo! The joy is ALL GONE!” While there truly was a part of me that sympathized with her lament, another part of me—the part soundly situated deep in the center of my being—swelled with hope when my son retorted, “You think joy comes from ornaments?”

The wisdom of my ten-year-old struck a chord within me, and convicted me of my own reliance on feelings and romanticism. The story of Christ’s birth and the nostalgia of the season evokes many romantic notions. But the true journey of faith is not one that can be survived by the faint of heart. It is a journey of suffering, poverty, awe, questioning, surrender, joy and love—not the fragile love based on emotion—but the Love that undergirds all else.

It is steady and wise.

And it is hard.

"[C]hoosing love is choosing joy, and we can begin this ascension very simply with prayers of thanks."

My journey in faith is still young and I have much to learn, but there is one thing I know for certain: Love is a person, His name is Jesus, and He is a choice. Every moment of every day we have the opportunity to act out of our call to Love, or choose to be a killjoy. Because choosing love IS choosing joy, and we can begin this ascension very simply with prayers of thanks. Before we can “proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations”, we must have a good handle on what exactly He did that is so great. And there are days (like the day you take down the Christmas tree) when it is hard to see through to the joy and all the great things He has done.

In the midst of these slumps, we can seek Him through our thanks for the little things He has given. One small act of thanks can lead to another and then another. And as the 'thanks' accumulates within us, it can bolster us to make the choice to love when we’re not feeling so loving. Immediately upon making this choice, our hearts will shift into high gear as they burst forth with the joy of choosing love, and we’re so elated, we're compelled to share our experience! Then, as we relay our story of the changes this unlikely Love has made in us and in the one we loved, another heart is moved. And before we know it, we are no longer self-medicating our OTD—we are free!

Let us Pray:

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for choosing to love me, even when I am not so lovely. Let this choice alone stir in me a desire to praise Your name and share with others all the good You have done. You are a wondrous God!

Lori MacDonald

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