(Audio)
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
The source of joy is remaining in the love of Jesus. The path to doing so is keeping the Father's commandments. We see here that the commandments are not arbitrary. They are given to safeguard the joy Jesus wants for us. They allow his own joy to be in us, to fill us completely, by conforming us to him, by making our love like his own.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
We know that self-sacrificial love is important. But we don't readily believe that it is the path to joy, at least, not as we express it concretely in our actions. What do we do when joy is lacking? Most often we distract ourselves. The distractions can be anywhere on the spectrum of work and entertainment. Sometimes we consciously expect joy from these pursuits. Other times we are just trying to forget about its absence. But how often do we try to solve our lack of joy by doing a small deed of kindness for someone else? And yet, haven't such deeds been a great source of joy for us in the past?
Parents probably understand better than most the rewards of self-sacrificial love. They lay down their own preferences and desires for the sake of their children. At times this seems to be anything but joyful. And yet, when asked if they would prefer a different, more selfish path, they usually answer 'No.'
It is possible to experience joy even in the midst of love which is self-giving. But to do so we have to learn to abandon the normally terms of our search.
"Man is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." (Gaudium et Spes 24)We might find some partial joy in seeking it. But joy enough to fill our lives, complete joy, is paradoxically only found when we stop seeking it for its own sake. Hearing this often makes us anticipate barren and joyless lives of service. But this is the opposite of what is promised. Nor does it exclude leisure, for we must love ourselves, as indeed God loves us, and let ourselves be loved, in order to have anything to offer the world.
Self-gift allows those who practice to, accept the invitation of the Apostles to, "become with us a witness to his resurrection."
The resurrection is the final and absolute proof that the joy of self-gift is more permanent and absolute than any joy we can seek for ourselves. But the secret we can learn is that we already have that resurrection life living within us, because Jesus dwells in our hearts. This is the secret that Jesus came from the Father to reveal to us. In living it we become his friends. We bear fruit that lasts.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.
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