Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

As Carter Chambers and Edward Cole pursue their bucket list before they "kick the bucket" in the movie "The Bucket List," Carter reminds Edward of an ancient Egyptian belief about getting to heaven. He says that in order to achieve heaven, their belief was that everyone must answer two questions: have you found joy in your life? And, have you brought joy to others? In his final words to Edward, Carter tells him to find the joy in his life. Edward does, and speaking of it, he tells everyone at Carter's funeral that Carter saved his life, that he was able to find the joy, and in the process, to give it to others.

How does one define "the joy" of one's life? As the ancient Egyptians envisioned it, it probably had to do with an achievement of something quite noble which in turn was able to help others. For the Christian, it means a belief in Jesus Christ. As the writer of the Gospel of John comments, "life" is defined in the person of Jesus Christ who brings the presence of God into our world. The joy of life comes through the person of Jesus.

For Carter Chambers in the movie "The Bucket List," joy was a renewed understanding of his vocation of marriage; for Edward Cole, it was reconciliation with his daughter. Joy is defined in different ways for every life, depending on where one is in the cycle of life. For young adults, joy may be the experience of determining what it is in life that they want to do. For adults, joy may be the experience of working out the life that they have chosen with all the ins and outs of day-to-day living. And for older people, as in the movie, joy may be nothing more than determining whether we have lived well or not.

Therefore the question becomes quite personal. What is the joy in your life right now? And does it give joy to others? The Christian will find an answer in Jesus' teachings, and probably will focus finally on love and the practice of love in the various circumstances of our lives. Love becomes our "joy", and our goal is to bring that love to everyone we meet.      

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son brought joy to the world because he gave us the chance to be with you forever. Give us the grace to be people of joy by sharing the love that your Son gave us. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America