HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER
THEME: Joy To The World
BY: Deacon Bill Frere
HOMILY FOR THURSDAYMAY 19 2022
Gospel – John 15:9-11
How would you characterize a ‘joyful’ moment? Maybe it was getting that game-winning home run in little league. Or that first kiss! Maybe it was marrying the love of your life! Witnessing the birth of your little girl! Or teaching your grandsons how to bake zucchini bread! We all have moments of joy, sheer unadulterated joy, joy beyond words!
For the Apostles, maybe it was Jesus appearing to them in the Upper Room after the Ascension! Mary Magdalene seeing the Risen Jesus at the tomb! Or maybe the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost! Or even the joy of the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem!
And yet none of it compares or even comes close to the joy that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel. Complete Joy! Jesus prays that His Joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete!! A joy beyond our understanding and experience! Beyond thought and word! The joy of being filled with the Risen Christ and energized by the Spirit! A joy born from the realization that God loves each and every one of us! The joy that warms our hearts and uplifts our souls! Can you imagine?
Deacon Bill Frere