What brings you the greatest joy in your life?
A few things that bring me joy are:
Being with my wife, children, grandchildren, and family.
Watching a beautiful sunset on the beach.
Playing a round of golf with friends and maybe even scoring well.
Eating my favorite food at my favorite restaurant, Linda’s kitchen.
I’m sure that you can think of many other things that bring you joy.
While these things bring joy, that joy may only endure for a limited amount of time.
The challenges we all go through in life can take away the joy we experience in our lives.
If we really want to experience joy all the time, listen to the words of Jesus.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is addressing his disciples just before the crucifixion.
He’s giving his farewell address to them to encourage them before they encounter many trials.
He tells the disciples that they are his friends.
A good relationship with a friend is a self-giving to one another.
It’s not like the relationship of a master and slave that is one way, where the slave obeys the masters command out of fear of punishment.
Jesus also tells his disciples that he chose them first.
Jesus, who is God, chose to love them.
Why did Jesus, choose to love them?
Because he is God and God IS love.
Jesus told his disciples they are his friends.
Friends do things for each other out of their love for each other.
When we are friends with someone, we do things to show them our, such as spending time with them or doing things they like.
Have you ever had a friend where it felt like a one-way relationship where you were the only giving but nothing was coming in return?
Did that relationship last?
Friendships need both parties to be giving of each other to sustain.
Do we choose to love God, as he loves us?
The good news for us is that God is love and chooses to always love us.
We are forever in his friendship.
It is up to us to remain in love with him.
If we remain in the love of God what’s the benefit?
Jesus tells us, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and your joy might be complete.”
We get glimpses of joy in our life as I mentioned earlier.
Imagine what it would be like to have the joy of Jesus in us all the time.
So, how do we remain in Jesus’ love so we can experience His joy all the time?
Again, Jesus tells us, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.”
That commandment is: “Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Jesus tells his friends, the disciples this, just prior to his crucifixion.
They probably heard his words but did not really fathom what he was telling them.
Jesus, gave his friends the ultimate gift of love, sacrificing his life for them, so they could have eternal life, living in joy in the presence of God.
Loving one another sounds so easy, but we all know how hard it is to do.
We are all human and know we will fail in always loving one another.
But we can do our best by remaining in the love of Jesus, by remembering one simple word, Joy, and what each of the letters stands for.
J is for Jesus.
O is for others.
Y is for yourself.
If we keep the priority of our love for Jesus and others, before ourselves, we can remain in Jesus’ love.
How can we show our love for Jesus?
Praying daily, receiving the sacraments, spending time with Him in adoration, and keeping his commandment of loving one another.
By receiving the Eucharist, we keep in communion with Jesus.
He becomes part of us, and we become His Body.
When we fail to love, his forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation helps restore our friendship with him, so we can continue to love our neighbor.
If we keep His commandment out of love, rather than obligation, we will be able to remain joyful.
Strengthened by the grace of his commands we can love one another.
How can we show our love for others?
By living the Beatitudes.
The Beatitude are the attitudes of being a disciple of Jesus.
In the Beatitudes Jesus tells us we are blessed.
Another word for blessed is happy and happiness done in the name of Jesus leads to joy.
We are so very blessed to be able to show are love for others in many ways such as:
Supporting pregnant moms in need through the Gabriel project.
Donating groceries to support the Harvest food pantry.
Being present to console a family or friend who has lost a loved one to death.
Helping an elderly neighbor with their yard work.
Providing a listening ear to someone experiencing a loss of a relationship with their spouse.
These are just few ways we can follow the commandment of loving others.
By giving of ourselves in love to others the joy of Jesus can be within us and we can follow the Jesus’ commandment remain His love.
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