In this section you can find a daily commentary on the Gospel of the Day.

Thursday 14 May 2020

St Matthias, Apostle

Word for today
The Gospel of John 15:9-17

May your joy be complete

I have told you this so that my joy [Greek noun charà] may be in you and your joy may be complete [Greek verb pleròo].
Chàra, "joy, happiness, pleasure," derives from the semantic Akkadian root that implies "lover, to love, pleasure, delight, charm, grace, joy."
The words of Jesus, indeed, the whole Gospel is always very technical and scientific.  When inquiring about life’s first and primary orientation, the answer offered by biology is pleasure.
Science seems to suggest  that pleasure is the promoter of life and of wellbeing.  In the human organism the feeling of pleasure and the state of enjoyment is reflected in a state of health, in a bio-physical  equilibrium, reflected in bright eyes, a rosy complexion, harmonious, lively gestures, warmth coursing through the whole body.  Better yet, with regard to man, it is not pleasure but rather happiness that we can talk about: the Greek word chàra contains extraordinarily all the meanings complete with nuances and interpretations for happiness.
According to science, happiness is the natural state of man, and the Gospel says the same thing.  Happiness is the first and complete goal of all the directions and procedures proposed by Jesus. Every other principle proposed in the Gospel, such as forgiveness, sharing, unity with God and one's brothers, mutual love, prayer itself, detachment from what we possess, aims to bring man happiness and is meaningful and worthwhile only if it leads man to happiness.
The Gospel is before everything else a precise proposal for happiness based on experience. The Beatitudes, whose objective and goal are happiness, bliss, total joy, offer a summary of the evangelical procedures. The Greatest Commandment, the procedure to love one another as He loved us, was announced to the world only for the true and full happiness of humankind. But Jesus does not speak only about joy-pleasure, He is referring to total joy-happiness. Adding the verb pleròo, which comes from the term plères, "complete, whole, perfect," expresses wealth-fullness, completeness, satisfaction, effectiveness beyond all measure. It is the verb denoting abundance, prosperity, total and wonderful wellbeing. It is a verb that describes the climax of a situation, the moment of greatest benefit and pleasure, happiness and satisfaction. It indicates an objective has been achieved. It is the verb that here, on earth, already catches a glimpse of the total and endless joy that God is preparing for all His children in His heavenly home.