I used to have this idea in my head. This idea that wealth and objects, a career climbing that ladder, and status defined happiness. I always had this idea in my head of what happiness was, and I thought I knew what I needed to do to achieve it. I was so busy pursuing happiness that I failed to see where I could actually find it. And what I found was that the harder and faster that I pursued this happiness, the more elusive it became. I could never achieve it. I could never go fast enough to attain it. I was always striving for that “idea” of happiness that I had in my mind, often at a cost to me and my family, and what I did not realize is that true happiness was all around me. I failed to see it.
For the longest time, I chased that happiness in things and places where it did not exist. I was too focused on work. I was too focused on salary. I was too focused on things in the house. I would attain something, some level, some feat, and then I would wonder what’s next? Don’t get me wrong – there is noting wrong with ambition and drive, but only if your mind and heart and perspective is in the right place. Only if your life is in balance and centered on Christ. Mine was not in balance. Mine was not centered on Christ. I was chasing happiness in all the wrong places and it divided the household. What I did not realize until fairly recently is that I already had it. Happiness is all around me.
It’s the same story in the readings today. Jesus and Jeremiah were preaching happiness, and how to achieve it. But the others in the readings, those who persecuted Jeremiah and the Pharisees who persecuted Jesus, had their own “idea” of happiness. They thought they knew what God wanted them to do, and they thought they knew what God was like and who the Messiah was going to be. But they did not realize what was right in front of them. They did not realize that Jeremiah was a messenger of God and that Jesus was God! They were right there, in their midst, yet they did not believe, they did not listen because they had their vision of what God is and what He would be like.
But because of their own expectations, they became divided. Some of the people thought that Jesus was a prophet. Others though He was the Messiah. But others said,
“The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
Surely this guy from Galilee is not the Messiah! Surely this Jeremiah fellow is not a prophet of God. We know what the Messiah will be like, we have this picture in our mind – This is not him! But we all know the rest of the story, right? Or do we?
How many of us in today’s world, with all that we “know”, have our own version of Christ? How many of us have our own God that we’ve fabricated to tolerate our most sensitive problems? We’ve often created a God, or a version of the Catholic Church that most fits our own beliefs and expectations. We often have our own idea of how we want to live our life and what we feel makes us happy, and we construct a god in our minds to support that, a god that will not fault us for those things we cannot give up, for those vices we have. That is not God. This is not happiness. This is not joy. This is not the truth.
So often we seek this happiness and joy in so many other things, and overlook what is right in front of us – God! And we think that this happiness in the material things of this world can bring us together with those around us, but it only serves to divide us. If I only made a little more money. If I only had a bigger house. If I only had this promotion, and if I only had that car. But it’s never enough. Our idea of happiness is never fully realized. We’re always left wanting more. It’s because we’re looking in the wrong place.
Happiness is not found in the things we want and desire. It is found in those around us. I am finally just starting to realize this in my life. Whether it is your family, your co-workers, the people who sit next to you in the pew, or the homeless man on the street, happiness is found in them. Happiness is found in feeling your spouse put their arms around you at night. Happiness is found in playing catch with your child after school, and listening to them talk about their day over dinner. Happiness is found in hanging around after Mass for an hour over coffee, just talking with your friends and fellow parishioners about their families and their lives. Happiness is found in talking with your co-workers about their lives outside of work and getting to know them, and happiness is giving the homeless man on the street the last few dollars out of your wallet, and looking into his eyes and seeing the gratitude, knowing that he will have another meal.
Happiness is all around us. God is all around us. He is in front of us, doing great things, but so often we fail to see. Jeremiah and Jesus’ persecutors could not see that. And many times, neither can we. I’m only just realizing this. I’m only just seeing the happiness that is all around me. I cannot wait to see more, and truly realize the happiness that God has to offer, now that I know where to look. I pray you do the same, and look for Christ and happiness all around you.
