Today we see Jesus at the Last Supper with the apostles in Jerusalem imparting his last catechesis, prayer, and blessings on them. Being a farewell message, you would think it would have to be a message filled with a heavy sense of grief and sadness. Yet taken together, those chapters from the Gospel of John read as a testament of hope and confidence. The excerpt we heard today speaks of being sent in joy and truth. Jesus actually places us inside the joy he has as being part of the Holy Trinity! That is absolutely amazing! Similarly, Paul’s farewell address to the first community of Ephesus points to service of others and constancy in the faith. From only a human point of view, one would expect that first community in Jerusalem (the apostles) and that first community in Ephesus to disintegrate after Jesus’ death or after Paul moved on to another city. Perhaps they would treasure those moments as important or even guiding moments in their lives. But overall, like high school friendships or weekend retreat moments, they should be experiences that fade over time.
Being sent to serve others is a basic principle and experience of Christian life. The Christian community is a place to encounter truth and joy. Their experience of the risen Christ did not fade. The experience of the risen Christ was so explosive that it became the center of the lives of those first Christians and pushed them out to share that joy and truth. The Church, the local community of faith (parish), the Catholic family, and each Christian exists for that mission of sharing or proclaiming joy and truth.
Look at the Jehovah Witnesses. Each week they go out to rap on doors to share their joy. Look at the young Mormons who dedicate two years of their life to mission service. We as Catholics we have lost our sense of mission and joy. All of us as a Church, not just formal missionaries, are sent out to share our joy. Rather than dedicating ourselves to mission, to announcing our joy, we tend to complain and gossip about others and life in general.
We can do so much more to be signs of joy and truth to those around us. As a baptized Christian, you are a sent on mission to your spouse, siblings, family, children, in-laws, neighborhood, school, and work place to announce joy.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
Image: ChatGPT C J Dunn 17MAY26 “rectangular, Jesus smiling with disciples at Last Supper” AI generated.