How Deep Are the Roots of Your Joy?

Posted: 01 Jun 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Tobit 2:9-14 / Mk 12:13-17

The search for happiness is a lifelong quest with outcomes as numerous and varied as the people in the world. Some folks are content with the simplest of lives, while others are congenitally dissatisfied no matter what their circumstance. Some people find the true source of happiness early in their lives, while others still have no clue as they lie on their deathbeds. For some, the quest begins well and then falters in the face of adversity.

This seems to have been the case with Tobit in today’s Old Testament reading. Tobit was a good man, faithful to God and to those around him. Through no fault of his own he was tragically stricken blind, and with the passage of time his powerlessness embittered him and made him suspicious, even of his long-suffering wife. Her response cut him to the quick. “Your true character is finally showing itself,” she said with a vengeance and she was right, at least in part.

Before hastening to lend our assent to her judgement of Tobit, we might do well to ponder our own conduct in adversity. Do we stand firm and confident, or does our “Christian joy” fizzle and reveal its shallow roots by succumbing to self-pity and bitterness?

The happiness we seek, the joy God wants us to have, has roots planted deep in our belief in the resurrection. How deep are your roots? Are you ready for the still unseen challenges that will surely come your way? Now is the time to find out, before they arrive!