Ordinary time week 9. Mk 12, 35-37
The people listening to Jesus were filled with delight. This simple phrase reveals so much. Delight implies great pleasure, satisfaction, or happiness. Tobit was certainly delighted at receiving his sight back and wanted to celebrate the fact with everyone. Jesus inspired joy and uplift. He made people feel comfortable, affirmed and valued - just like any true friend. The special quality of this delight was its link to their relationship with God and which they found in Jesus. Like all the good with which God endows us, delight can be defined and rationalised but fundamentally delight is an experience; it is heart-centred. This is why Pope Francis continually speaks of the Joy of the Gospel. Joy is an experience not a definition or an explanation. Even the bible makes this clear. For centuries God sent prophets and holy men to speak of his wishes and his love for his people. Yet few were able to understand or appreciate this love. So, in the end, God sent his Son, a living breathing human being, so that they could feel and experience that love, God’s love for us, in Jesus. Through the eucharist God enters fully into our lives so that others can experience the love and goodness of God in us and we in them. The Word became flesh and LIVES among us.
Understanding that Delight leads to Joy, Pope Francis says:
· “A Christian is one who is invited to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ. This is a joy! You are called to a party!”
· Christianity spreads through the joy of disciples who know that they are loved and saved.
· A Christian is never bored or sad. Rather, the one who loves Christ is full of joy and radiates joy.
by Fr Thomas O'BRIEN a.a