Philippians 2:5-11 / Luke 14:15-24
Happiness and sadness are the two emotions that seem to dominate our lives.
We desire for happiness and we do experience happiness when good things come our way.
But we also know that happiness will just come and go, and the next moment something bad may happen and we sink into sadness and disappointment.
But we also need to remember that sadness and disappointment also will just come and go, and that it won’t remain for a prolonged period of time.
In the gospel, someone said to Jesus that happy the man who will be at the feast of the kingdom of God.
And then Jesus told a parable in which a man gave a great banquet and invited many guests.
But surprisingly, the invited guests turned down the invitation for such a happy occasion.
It goes to show that we may not truly understand what true happiness is about.
The 1st reading tells us that though Jesus is divine, yet He emptied Himself to become a man and subjected Himself to the human condition, and even accepted a painful death.
But because He was obedient, God raised Him up and all creation should bend the knee at His name.
In our happiness and sadness, let us be like Jesus who showed us how to be obedient to God.
Then we will know what is true happiness and in our sadness, God will be our comfort and consolation.