May 14, 2009

Today's Gospel: John 15: 9-17

"...and your joy might be complete."

In our pursuit of happiness, we tend to tire ourselves and focus our energies on things that do not last. We work hard to earn more so that we can spend more and hope that we can buy ourselves the happiness that we long all our lives. True, sometimes we find temporary happiness in these stuff. We get excited when we can buy the things we want, do the things we want to do, go to places we want to see. We get excited with these things and somehow these give us a certain feeling of euphoria. But these moments are but fleeting. After a momentary experience of happiness, we are back again to feeling empty. So we repeat the vicious cycle of tiring ourselves to work so we can earn more money and use this hard-earned money to "buy" us a moment of happiness...but it is just that --- a moment of happiness.

The promise of following Jesus, in abiding in him is a joy that is complete. A profound joy that only he can fulfill. As St. Augustine said it, "our hearts are restless until they rest in God." This is a simple truth that we find hard to believe. We try to complicate our lives by cluttering it with other non-essential things. All we need is him. He offers us a friendship that is more important than life itself. Again, this friendship has already been offered to us; it is now just a matter of accepting this friendship. This friendship that we have never yet experienced even from the closest friends that we have.

Only Jesus can complete our joy. Only his friendship can bring about this joy.

Are you ready to accept the kind of friendship Jesus is offering to you now?

Are you ready to accept also the other friends of Jesus, who, like you, he also has invited?