Best Advent Ever is made possible by viewers like you.

You're awesome.

The speed of joy is:

Dynamic.

Natural.

Timeless.

Unhurried.

Amazing.

Welcome back to Best Advent Ever. If you've been journeying with me for a while, you've probably heard me speak about my spiritual mentor that entered into my life when I was about 15 years old. He's the one who challenged me to stop by church for 10 minutes a day. He's the one who challenged me to read the gospels over and over for a whole year. 10, 15 minutes a day. Just read the gospels over and over for a whole year, he told me. He says, "You've got to work out who Jesus is." And reading the gospels has become a lifelong habit for me. And I love delving into the Gospels in new ways.

I love to find new prisms through which to look at the gospels, because we do become very familiar with them, you know? And so I love to pick up the Gospel of John and read it through the lens of one virtue, maybe courage. Just read the Gospel of John, and just through the lens of courage, and see, okay, where are people displaying courage? Where are people displaying cowardice? Where is Jesus demonstrating and modeling courage to us? Or virtue could be humility, the virtue could be generosity. And so I'm always looking for new ways to experience the gospels.

And the scriptures are such that there's an infinite number of layers constantly revealing themselves to us if we will approach them really at the speed of joy. 10 years ago, I would have said, "Hey, you've got to take your time, you've got to be patient, and don't rush it." But the concept of the speed of joy really has helped me to discover the scriptures in a completely new way. But in my journey, my quest to live at the speed of joy, there were two realizations about Jesus and from the gospels that really sort of stopped me in my tracks.

And again, challenged me not to tweak the way I lived my life, but really turn the way I lived my life upside down. Six words. The first truth is contained in six words. Jesus was never in a hurry. I never thought about it before. Never thought about it before, but Jesus was never in a hurry. Those six words are worthy of profound reflection. Jesus was never in a hurry. The three tyrants, urgent, busy, hurry, had no place in his life. Jesus was never in a rush. He lived an unhurried life. He was a peaceful presence. He brought a calm to every room he entered. He was present to whoever was before him in that moment.

He gave his wholehearted attention to the person he was with in the moment. He gave His whole self to whatever activity He was doing at that moment. Jesus was never in a hurry. The call of our faith is to model our life on the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus was never in a hurry. I think the interesting thing was-- I stumble upon this idea when I'm 44, 45 years of age. My whole life being a Catholic by that time. Probably 30 years, I've been seriously striving to live the faith. Yes, in broken and imperfect and in fragile ways, but still 30 years striving to live the faith. And nobody had ever pointed out, "Matthew, I might want to keep in mind Jesus was never in a hurry." Nobody ever, anywhere, had ever said, "Matthew, look, your life is insanely busy, and Jesus was never in a hurry." And that was really, I mean, again, just one of these crushing revelations. Because if Jesus was never in a hurry, maybe we shouldn't be either.

The world may be moving at a ridiculous speed, but that doesn't mean we have to. Doesn't mean we have to. The second thing about the life and teachings of Jesus, the second thing about the gospels that really opened my eyes through the lens of the speed of joy, was how Jesus dealt with interruptions. Because before I discovered the speed of joy, interruptions were unacceptable and intolerable and to be avoided at all costs. And then, once I start to live at the speed of joy, once I start to reflect on the speed of joy, this realization that, "Hold on a minute. Jesus' whole public life was interruptions. His whole public life was interruptions."

And the disciples—they're like, "Leave Jesus alone. He's got somewhere to go." And Jesus is like, "Hold on, guys. Actually, this is where I got to go. This is the main thing." Jesus made interruptions the main thing. And the disciples trying to hurry him along. Disciples trying to tell people, "Leave Him alone. Leave Him alone." And Jesus is like, "No, it's okay, guys." This interruption is the main thing. So as you go out today - my challenge for you today—I want you to look, be open to the holiest interruption God sends your way. The other thing I want you to think about today is getting a copy of <em>Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy</em> for everyone in your parish this year. The deadline to guarantee books is almost here.

I think you can see how insanely busy and fast our culture and our lives have become. We're being invited to slow down to the speed of joy. Most of our lives are too busy. Most of the time, we're in too much of a rush. Jesus was never in a hurry, but most Catholics are. And I think we owe it to them, to help them slow down to the speed of joy this Christmas. So click the button below, get a copy for everyone in your parish, and invite them to experience the speed of joy. God bless you. Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

Thank you, Ambassadors. You are changing the world. See you tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day. Have a great day.

Bye-bye.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Come on.

Have a great day. 

Have a great day.

Bye-bye.

Simon, come sit.

I love you.

Have a great day.

Have a great day.

Come sit

Have a great day.

Have a great day

See you next time. Bye. Have a great day.