Today we celebrate Letarea Sunday, the Sunday of Joy. During the season of Lent we are given an opportunity to rest from the desert of this Lenten Season by focusing on the Joy of our Christian life. On this Sunday we are allowed to decorate our churches with a few flowers and to rejoice at the great gift of redemption which is ours. I think that as we look at what gives Joy to a human heart we will see that it is communion, with God and with one another. And what takes away our joy? It is sin, because it destroys our communion with God and with one another and forces us to be lonely.
What happens when we commit a serious sin against another human being? We destroy our relationship with that person, and this person is no longer in communion with us the way he/she was before. This happens to us especially in our family relations. People stop speaking with each other, they break any communication, just because someone has done evil against them. The same thing happens in our relationship with God. When we sin against God we break our communication with Him, and find ourselves alone. We don’t like to be alone. We don’t enjoy not belonging. And there is a very good reason for that: because God created us for community, God created us to belong and be in a loving relationship with Him and with one another. We are hardwired for love, and love needs community. The season of Lent gives us an opportunity to recognize that we are all in need of community with God and with one another. We need each other and we need God in our lives. Sin has a devastating effect on our relationship. But God awaits us with open arms in the sacrament of confession. If we only had enough humility and would “come to our senses” to take advantage of this wonderful gift. In Confession God wants to repair our broken relationship with Him and with His Church. If we only turned back, we too could feel the joy of restored “communion of love” for which God created us. Someone reflecting on human needs said this:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma