THE JOY OF HEAVEN
The joy in heaven is echoed by
the joy on earth. May Christ Jesus help us to give joy to those near and dear
to us on this earth!
In this Sunday's Gospel Jesus gives us another
parable, The Lost Sheep. The message tells us that "There will be more joy
in heaven over one sinner who repents..." (Lk 15:7). The parable is all
about finding those who are lost and bringing them back home where they belong.
Jesus shows us how people (us) will respond to the one that is lost.
This reminds me of the story of Bill, which
I'd like to share with you. Bill went to Mass for the first time in twenty
years. During the kiss of peace, one of the parishioners said, "You're new
to our parish and I would like to invite you to our parish retreat at our
retreat center." Bill was at a place in his life where he was recently
separated from his wife and his three children, and his job was very unstable. He
was suffering from what the world calls a "broken heart". So he
decided that, yes, he'd take a chance and he would sign up for the parish
retreat.
During the retreat weekend he had an
experience with God. He hadn't been to the sacrament of Reconciliation for over
twenty years. Afterward, he said he felt like a new man. The anger he had for
God, for his boss, for the world and for his family was gone. He cried for two
to three hours as he was walking the grounds of the retreat center. He had a
desire to be needed. He had a desire to love and be loved.
To make the story short, Bill became very
active in his parish. In fact, he became the President of the parish council
and held an office in the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife never got a
divorce and in his own words, "they are more in love today than ever
before" and his children really love having him around. He was lost and
has been found, all by God's love. Here was a sheep that was lost but now was
found by the Good Shepherd!
I would like to emphasize that there is also
joy on this earth when a sinner repents. Take Bill's family for example. How
happy they were to find daddy being happy and wanting to be with them again.
They were all emotionally and socially doing better. They all walked in with
him to church. Bill has changed and his conversion brought a lot of joy to
those near and dear to him.
We can say the same for anyone who turns back
to God: the gambler who decides to use his money for his family; the impatient
person who makes an attempt to control his temper; the selfish individual who
begins to share and cooperate; the continual complainer who starts to show
appreciation; the gossiper who decides to talk about the good qualities of his
neighbor; the fallen-away who listens to God's call to come back; the
privileged person who determines to share his blessings with the
underprivileged; parents who awaken to their responsibilities; children and
youth whose eyes are opened to the love and concern of their father and mother;
the unloving person who hears and answers Jesus' call to the love of God and
neighbor. All these, all sinners, who change for the better, make the angels
happy but they also make human beings happy. To make another human being happy
is one important way of showing one's love for that person.
The shepherd who found the lost sheep and the
woman who found the lost coin, celebrated. We who have found the lost
friendship of God celebrate in and through the Holy Mass. Mass makes the angels
happy and Mass makes human beings happy as well. The joy in heaven is echoed by
the joy on earth. May Christ Jesus help us to give joy to those near and dear
to us on this earth!