ALWAYS REJOICE

 ALWAYS REJOICE
Reflection on the Word on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 19, 2021 - Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ……………………………………………………………………………

The Apostle Paul advised everyone in every nation, that rejoice, always, rejoice. He was practically saying, that I beg You, people, that do not worry about anything, but ever and ever and really, and put all your requests to God in your prayers, So sit back a little bit and just watch peacefully how the plans of God and the events on Earth evolve for your own good. Even trials and tribulations are designed to amend our ways, or at least sufferings make us think that the time is here to amend our ways, and to start to say real amens after our prayers, showing, that we really mean them.

Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens for the happy end, howsoever far the end, especially the happy end may seem to be, or howsoever bumpy the road is, which leads to the fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding redemption and the visible appearance of the Kingdom of God, where there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more sufferings, and death as an institution will be no more.

Nonetheless, until that, says the Apostle, just rejoice and rejoice despite everything, give thanks to God in any circumstances, do not be anxious and do not be worried about anything. It is not an easy task for humans, it is certain, neither for the persons in the animal kingdom. Maybe the case of the angels is quite a bit different, especially in Los Angeles, but according to tradition and spiritual knowledge, angels do not possess free will, so they are not responsible for their deeds or for their idleness.

Close to the coasts of The New Zealand and the port of Auckland, a city with a sizable sea traffic in the Pacific Ocean, once upon a time it just happened, that the tuna fish and the code fish were very much bothered that the ships over their heads regularly messaged each other on the radio using the so called Morse code. They desperately wanted to know what is going on in the real world beyond the water, so they went to take evening classes of Morse code in a dark underwater cave. However the tuna fish could not get along with its tune, and the code fish just hated the code itself. Thus they were not able to master it, though it could have been very useful not only in eavesdropping on the ships overhead, but in the regular communication between each other, as both of the two are well known for their speech impediment. What can one do, it’s life.

It was also told that the tulip and the rose had a thorny relationship right in the very Hanging Garden of Princess Semiramis in Babylon, which garden once was one of the seven great wonders of the ancient world. The tulip swore to everything dear that it is not its fault. The rose said, that there is no help, because every rose has its thorn. A rose can not un-rose itself. It looks like that it might be God’s fault, as he created the rose with thorns. God said to them, that “I can not help either, because not even God is able to undo the creation, just at the very end. Until that, folks, in the plant kingdom, please, be patient and be kind to each other.

In an other universe the wolf was very jealous of the lion. The lion told to his mother-in law, that no wonder that the wolf is jealous, because he has no real muscles, like lions do, especially lion kings. Whatever the jealous wolf has, it is just wolf jello. The fox told them, that muscle is not everything, clever people are able to outsmart any muscles. The turtle told them that to be too smart can not be the ultimate purpose of the animal life, because humbleness is a real shield around you. Just like rushing is not necessarily a wise behaviour, slowing down is often more effective, than speeding in actions or on the road. As the saying has it that “Walk slowly and you'll go far, ” or as some doctors have it in a modern study, that walking slower than normal may burn more calories.

An Indian newspaper in Calcutta wrote, that a car hit an elephant on the road 11, and the car suffered irreparable damages. The elephant wrote to his uncle, that I hit a car, and the car became a wretch. The road reported to the highway authorities, that I have seen almost nothing, I am two dimensional, like a map. Everything depends on the angle of the viewers or on the size of the elephants or on the number of the careless drivers.

The fork and the spoon fought over domination of the table in a palace. Then the maid came and packed away all the utensils into a dark drawer. Then they kept fighting over the domination of the dark drawer. Nothing changes by itself.

The corn, the beans, the squash formed a formidable alliance against the whimsical fate and fortune. The corn said, that I will be our ears. The beans said, that I will be our eyes. The squash said, that I will be our head. When the time became ripe, they faced harvest together valiantly, saying, do not be afraid, we are in this together.

The goat visited the barber, complaining, that his beard is too long and inappropriate looking. He wanted a clean shave. The barber advised him that there are no such thing that a perfectly clean shave. Nonetheless, he will try to do his best. They both agreed, that it must be good enough. When nothing is perfect in this world, then good enough just must be good enough, because enough is enough.

The grape never thought, that one day it will become wine. And it was right. Indeed, first it has to be squeezed for its juice and then through a long process it will become wine. During the next decades even betterment and refinement are expected in the bottle or in the wine barrel. However, nothing but nothing worthy happens overnight. Wine and people develop real spirituality only gradually.

It also happened once, that the horse wanted to think out of the box and ride on the back of his owner. The owner collapsed under the weight of his horse, praying desperately that may God turn his horse into a pony instantly. His request was granted, and the horse much regretted of thinking freely for a dull moment. Everybody is free to think about anything, but in order to fare well, one has to cautiously plan well in advance what one will be thinking about and exactly when.

The penguin never complains, that the amount of the snow is just too much, begging to have a little less of it. To humans, weather is never perfect. If it rains, pours. If it shines, burns. If it is cloudy, it is grey. If it is daylight, often it is too long or too short. If it is night time, it is often too short or too long to wait it out, but never perfect.

The Apostle says, that be patient with the weather and be kind to each other, including yourself. Nothing and nobody is good enough, except God. Still, we can always rejoice in God, we can always put all our rightful hopes in God, and we will never be disappointed in the Lord Almighty, who always answers the prayers in grace and power, AMEN.