Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Joy. This is an emotion and a state of being that is hard to explain. It is more than happiness, more than contentment. It is defined as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” But joy to me means so much more. Joy is a deep, inner part of our being that shines through in all we do. Joy shines forth in our conversations, in our actions, in the way we approach the world. Joy comes from a deep belief in the love of Christ. I think it is rooted in the security of knowing that no matter what else happens in this life, we are committed to Christ, we are Christ’s. He is there to take care of us.
I think this security of knowing whose you are and who is protecting you and caring for you can lead to a deep contentedness, a joy. Think of a baby who has a healthy attachment to his or her parents. There is tremendous joy in that baby – so much so that it radiates to others. We are given this same joy when we are secure in the Lord – when we know whose we are and therefore who we are.
To know we are Christ’s and the depth of what that means, we must get to know Christ and all that he is. We must read the bible, spend time in prayer, encounter Christ in others, so that we can know this person who is our protector, our security, our comfort.
In today’s Gospel, Christ specifically speaks of His joy. To have Christ’s joy must be an overpowering, overwhelming sensation. This is a joy deeper and stronger than any joy we have felt in our earthly bodies. We gain this joy when we follow Christ’s commands, when we live in his love. This joy, along with his divinity, explains why Christ was never self-conscious about what others might think or worried about who might be offended when he preached the gospel. There is an intense security and peace that accompanies this joy. I pray that we may all know Christ’s joy and that because of this our joy might be truly complete.
- Amanda Grimm