It was late. While walking past a large wooden crucifix mounted on the otherwise spare and stark white wall, I saw the gentle face of Jesus carved into the rough wood grain. His head was tilted slightly, and his eyes were closed as if he were resting peacefully. His bearded face was broken up by an expression of quiet joy as he hung there on the cross. I couldn’t help but break into a joyful smile too.
It had been an intensely challenging day in an intensely challenging week, but I felt joy when I looked at Christ on the cross.
I’ve seen many pious images of Jesus smiling while feeding hungry people, healing the sick, and teaching the children. I’ve seen images of Jesus laughing and of Jesus looking stern and serious—even sorrowful—on occasion. I appreciate those images and their expressions of the humanity of Jesus.
But his expression on this crucifix stood out to me, since it differed from the somber way Jesus is typically depicted on the cross. There was something strange about an image of Jesus on the cross smiling joyfully. Why would anyone break into a joyful smile while hanging on a cross?
Upon reflection, I realized that the most joyful times of my life have occurred while suffering for someone else. Once, when building a wheelchair ramp with some other volunteers, even though I was sweating, sore, tired, and hungry, I was happy because I was working for someone who could not afford to pay for it. I experienced the same joy when giving money to someone poorer than I was, even though I would not eat very well that week because of it.
You’ve probably done similar things and experienced the same joy when accepting suffering because of your love. When we suffer for the sake of love, we experience in a small way the joy of the cross. This joy is not about the suffering we endure. Rather, our joy is on account of how much we delight in loving and pouring ourselves out in love.
The greater the love, the greater the joy. How much joy flowed from the incomprehensibly great love of Christ as he poured out his lifeblood on the cross to redeem humanity? And it is precisely this joy that Jesus offers to us. It is this joy—so immense and unimaginable—that Christ won for us on the cross.
Our Lord came to draw us into the divine life of love. He endured his Passion on the cross so that we might have the joy of eternal life. He came to share with us the fullness of joy that he enjoyed with the Father from the beginning. He gave us the grace of the Holy Spirit to raise us up to himself, he who is the source of all joy.
So let us enter into our Lord’s passion! Let us enter into the joy of our Lord!
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Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. (used with permission)
