Welcome!

In place of “Part II” of Now and Forever (the regular session of Good New Spirituality) we’ll be considering this Easter message:

“This is the kingdom for joy!”

Our nation enshrines pursuit of happiness as a God-given right. In today’s world, we’re encouraged to seek “happiness” in consumerism, power, and control. Dead–even soul-destroying–ends, which ultimately leave us dissatisfied.

But we have another choice. As Christians, we also belong to a kingdom that seeks joy, not happiness.

“This is the kingdom for joy!” Did you catch that line in the video? It jumped out at me, perhaps because our choir sang Steven C. Warner’s hymn “Crux Fidelis” on Good Friday during veneration of the Cross. The refrain translates “crux fidelis” as “tree of gladness,” and the verses explain this powerful paradox, “the Lord Jesus loved us and gave his life for us…with the cross, He gave us the blessed gift of joy.”

Joy is potent stuff, rising above even terrible circumstances and tragedies. How often have we traded in our birthright of joy, the gift of our baptism, for the pursuit of elusive and circumstantial happiness?

Good news spirituality challenges us to live in the joy of God’s great love for us. Are we truly joyful in Christ? Does our joy spill over into our lives, motivating us to live according to God’s will, to become the people God wants us to be? Good news spirituality is an apostolic spirituality, meant to be active in our daily lives. Does our joy, like the Apostles’ on Pentecost, attract others to the faith, winning converts from the false gospels of the secular world?

Tough questions to consider, and we may not always like the answers we can honestly give. (Believe me, if you want to kick your conscience into high gear, start writing a spirituality blog.) But we are called to be nothing less than saints…all because God loves us. 

Rejoice!