Psalm Reflection: The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A

“Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.” - Psalm 66

As I was driving home from work last week, I passed two young boys riding their bikes on the sidewalk. As I drove by them, one boy was enthusiastically moving his arm up and down signaling that he wanted me to honk my horn. 

I instantly flashed back to a middle school field trip when my classmates and I were signaling big rigs on the freeway in the same way to honk for us. Mile after mile no one did until, right before our exit, one trucker obliged and the entire school bus of middle schoolers erupted into cries of joy and victory.

I smiled and the joy of that memory and I honked my horn. 

Sure enough, the boys reacted the same way: they thrusted their arms in the air with shouted cries of joy and victory. All that joy for a horn.

When did finding joy become so difficult?

When we were young, the smallest things could bring us complete joy and satisfaction. I see the same thing with my own children. My son loves when I bring home ministry magazines I get sent that would normally go straight in the recycling bin. He gets so excited to thumb through the pages, draw in them, and acts as if they are the greatest gift he has ever received.

When did we lose that sense of joy, excitement and wonder?

I once heard it said that when God creates us, He reveals to us all the mysteries, secret, wonders and knowledge of the universe. Then we are born, and we begin to forget.

Have you forgotten what it is like to feel joy?

What is getting in the way?

Jesus tells in in Mark 10:15: “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” 

The world wants to steal our innocence, rob us of our joy, and pressure us to grow up quickly and act like adults long before before we become them. 

Once we are adults, we realize what we lost or left behind and we become nostalgic for simpler times and then do all we can to try and stay young. We are so set on maturing and taking ourselves seriously that we brush past or leave behind all the beautiful things that make up our childhood.

How can we regain what we have lost?

Jesus is not asking us to act like children in the sense that we should be helpless or immature. He is asking us to emulate the qualities children have that make them more receptive to God’s love: 

Joy.

Trust.

Laughter.

Authenticity.

Obedience.

Imagination.

Fun.

These are not lost to us. These things are available to us every day if we stop and allow ourselves to be present to God, to be present to who we really are, and to let go of who we think everyone else wants us to be. 

We can find joy by noticing the small honk-your-horn-just-for-the-fun-of-it moments and acting on them. 

We can find joy by not taking ourselves so seriously.

We can find joy by focusing less on our own happiness and more on bringing others joy.

Small acts of kindness and presence can bring a person joy and change the course of their day, or even their entire life.

What small thing is the Lord inviting you to do for someone today that will bring them joy?

Think about the $5 you might spend every day on a of a cup of coffee or a snack. Could you go without that luxury and use that $5 or some other small amount of money to be a game changer in someone else’s day today? 

What could you do to make an impact, put a smile on someone’s face, or bring joy into the world with only $5?

Pay for someone’s small item in the express lane at the grocery store.

By some flowers and give them to a stranger.

Put some money in someone’s gas tank.

By some scratchers and wish a few people luck.

By some donuts or a small pizza and surprise your coworkers.

Whatever it is, try and put that idea into action this week. Not only will you be bringing the joy of this Psalm to life for someone else, you will feel joy from helping someone else.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, May 14th, 2023, which is the Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A: Psalms 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20