Thought of the Day January 16, 2019 Plunge into the Joy of the Lord
Plunge into the Joy of the Lord.
Rich Mullins wrote a song entitled The Joy of Jesus. The words
of two of the verses are:
"And may the joy of Jesus be in you And may the joy of
Jesus be with you And may you know the joy of Jesus And may the joys of Jesus
be in you.
And may you dance and laugh and sing May you know the warmth of
His embrace May you feel the brush of angel wings Like the wind upon your
face."
God is the God of joy. So often we think of God as a stern judge
or an old cranky person. But one of the personal qualities of Jesus is joy.
Yes, he is a man of great sorrows. But he is also an image of joy, reflecting
the joy of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, we don’t see too many
portraits of Jesus depicting him with a smile.
As Son of God, Jesus’ life was fully
human. There were sufferings, trials and difficulties. He embraced the cross
for our sake. And he told his disciples that they too need to take up their
cross and follow him. But he not only wanted them to share with him in his
sufferings but to share in his joy to the full. In John 15:11, Jesus says: “I have told
you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
Jesus is the source of true, lasting joy. In him we find our joy. The
completion of this joy comes when we are in the presence of God forever in
glory. As Psalm 16:11 says: “You
will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence; the delights at
your right hand forever.” The antiphon for that Psalm in the Divine Office is
more explicit. “When I see your face, O Lord, I shall know the fullness of
joy.” (To Be continued)
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