The World's Toughest Job

Seeking the happiness that only Jesus can give

John 10: 7-10

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;  I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

     After walking on this earth for almost 45 years here are the only two things I know for sure (actually, it was more like stumbling forward than walking). Here are the only two things I’m sure of: (1) everyone wants to be happy, and (2) no one is completely happy. Ironic, isn’t it? Ask anyone, regardless of their country or class, their culture or their character, do you want to be happy? And you will receive a resounding and unanimous “yes!” But if you ask them, “Have you found happiness?” What will they say? If they are honest (and many people are not!) they will reply, “No. I'm still searching." For instance, children want to play more video games, wives want their husbands to talk more, husbands want their wives to talk less, short people want to be tall, and tall people want to wear high heels, Russia wants to take over Armenia, Catholics want shorter homilies, and priests want bigger collections. No one is completely content.

     In the gospel today, we meet the only one who can tell us what true happiness is, namely, Jesus. Our Lord says categorically: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” In other words, Jesus is saying, "I want you to be happy!" No one knows better than Jesus the tragedy of the human condition: we all seek happiness but no one knows where to find it. That's why Jesus came: to answer that ache in the heart of humanity. In other words, our happiness lies in Jesus, not in being taller or in hearing shorter sermons or in taking over the world. Only Jesus offers us life abundantly, perfect peace, true happiness.

     Now, besides Jesus someone else who knows this human drama and dilemma of searching for happiness is our mom. For nine months before we even took our first breath, our moms wanted us to be happy. And no one really knows all the sacrifices a mother makes for her child’s happiness. A friend recently sent me a youtube video of a pretend job interview for “The World’s Toughest Job” and the position was called “Director of Operations.” If you haven’t seen it, you should google it today for Mother’s Day. The interviewees thought this was a real position until they started hearing the requirements. Here are some of the requirements of this job: you must be able to work standing on your feet all day sometimes all night, you need degrees in medicine, finance, and culinary arts, you will get no vacations – indeed during Thanksgiving, Christmas and the holidays your work load increases – you get no coffee breaks and you can only eat lunch after your associate (your child) does, you will not be able to sleep, and if you had a life you must give that up. And the salary for this position is zero. The people interviewing for this position are aghast, exclaiming, "That's inhumane!" And "Who would ever do such a job?!" Then the interviewer tells them that in fact billions of people do this every day, they are called "moms." It brings tears to my eyes every time. But moms do all that for two reasons: (1) moms know their children want to be happy, and (2) moms know their children do not have a clue how to be happy.

     Now, imagine what would happen if a perfect mom ever had a perfect Son, and not just a perfect Son, but a Child who was happiness itself, joy on two legs. Of course, we know that mother-child combination is Mary and Jesus. On this Mother’s Day say a Hail Mary for your mother. Heck, pray a whole Rosary for her! Could it be Mother's Day that brings some of you to Mass today - to make your moms happy? And take a moment to realize all the sacrifices she has made for your happiness. It might also be necessary gently to remind her that happiness is not wearing high heels, but Jesus. Only Jesus can make both you and your mother happy. Psalm 23 teaches, When The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. That’s why Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them…A thief comes only to steal, and slaughter and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!