Joy is something that we experience during different parts of our life. We might experience joy when our favorite team wins a tough game or, on a more sentimental note, we might experience joy when someone comes home from military service. As Christians we experience joy in another way. We take joy in the fact that God has revealed himself through the words of the Bible. In a more complete way Jesus comes in human flesh so that we can hear the voice of God.

One of the great moments of joy in the Bible is found in the gospel according to St. Luke. In chapter 15 we hear about a shepherd who is missing one of his sheep and upon finding it he rejoices with his friends and neighbors. We also hear about a woman who lost one of her 10 coins and upon finding it, she too rejoices. Finally we hear the magnificent story that is known as the story of the prodigal son. The joy that emanates from this story comes from the conversion that this man experienced when he was at his lowest point. Hearing someone’s conversion story is always very powerful because it is a story of struggle but also joy. Psalm 30 sums it up quite nicely: Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol; you let me live, from going down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful; give thanks to his holy memory. For his anger lasts but a moment; his favor a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing.
I am a firm believer that each of us has two conversion stories. The first is the initial conversion that we go through, and we make the conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ. The second is the ongoing conversion that we come to at different points of our life. As we go through life we will encounter many opportunities for conversion. This might come to us in the form of battling an addiction. It might also come to us in the form of coming to terms with some bad decisions that we have made that we must turn against.

In a few weeks we will celebrate the reason for our joy and hope as Christians. The days leading up to Easter call to mind the great love that God has for us. The sorrow of the crucifixion can be overwhelming but Jesus’ life and love does not end there. Joy comes when we see the empty tomb because Jesus has defeated our two greatest fears: sin and death. I hope that in the coming days and weeks we will recognize that it is Jesus who came to bring us joy and to bring that joy to completion.