JOY IN THE LORD.

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July 3, 2022.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – C.

Readings: Is 66:10-14c; Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20; Gal6:14-18; Lk 10:1-12, 17-20.

“Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Lk 10:20

A Ghanaian proverb says: “The orphan does not rejoice after a heavy breakfast.” And a Danish proverb adds: “He who would enjoy the fire must bear its smoke.”

Christian life we said last Sunday, is a journey in the footsteps of Christ. This journey leads to perfection of joy. Therefore, the Christian life is itself a joyous life. Our joy, however, is not a synonym for trial-free life. The real joy spring from accepting everything with faith and firmness in the Lord.

Humanly speaking, everyone wants to be always happy. And we often draw our happiness or joy from our achievements. When you succeed in doing something, it fills your heart with indescribable joy. The joy in the Lord goes further than that which comes from human achievements. It speaks of salvation, the final goal of our beings.

Today's readings invite us to such a joy. Already, opening our liturgy, our prayer was for the Lord to fill us with holy joy, to rescue us from slavery to sin, and bestow on us eternal gladness. This prayer will find all its meaning in the readings.

The Lord, through Isaiah, invites us to rejoice and to exult. He is about to spread prosperity to his people and take away from them all that causes them to mourn. Jerusalem will be comforted. And so, Isaiah ends by exhorting: "When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the Lord’s power shall be known to his servants."

With the Psalmist we answer the invitation for joy, singing: "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy." And it is a song from all living creatures, for the Lord is faithful to his promises. He won't ever let us lack anything we need in our Sequela Christi.

In the second reading, the Apostle Paul tells the believers that the greatest joy is the joy of the Cross. That is, bearing the marks of suffering and trials with Christ. He says, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." As Christians, we should not be boastful or overwhelmed with joy because of anything we do or our achievements. Our joy must be Jesus Christ and Jesus Crucified. The message of the Cross once again springs from the readings. And this must be an always present message for us. There is no real and lasting joy without Jesus and Jesus Crucified.

The Gospel is also an invitation to rejoice. We read that the Lord Jesus commissioned seventy-two disciples for a mission with firm instructions on what they should do and what they should take for the journey. After this apostolic mission, while overwhelmed with joy for their achievements and the successful ending of their mission, the Lord tells them not to rejoice because demons obey them but to rejoice that their names are written in Heaven.

Christianity is not a joy-killing religion, but a religion that orients our joy to the most important. Christians must be Joyful. Their joy, however, must be for salvation and not in the worldliness. For, the joy of this world, and even of miracles is passing. It is just the fruit of euphoria. The Lord instead invites us for permanent joy and salvation.

Let's close this meditation with the words of Pope Francis about the Christian joy, the joy of the Gospel. He says, "The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew... The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it and end up resentful, angry, and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”." EG 1-3.

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