The Joy of the Gospel

Homily for Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time

Early on in his pontificate, Pope Francis wrote an apostolic exhortation which he entitled “Evangelium Gaudium,” the joy of the Gospel. Today’s Scripture readings reminded me of much that he said in that exhortation. Today’s readings weave a powerful thread that runs from King David, through the psalmist, all the way to Jesus: the question of who truly belongs to God—who is part of His household, His family.

In the first reading from 2 Samuel, David brings the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. The Ark was the sign of God’s presence among His people. And David doesn’t approach it with stiff formality or royal distance. He dances. He rejoices. He pours himself out in worship. His whole being says, “God is here, and I belong to Him.” David shows us that belonging to God is not just a matter of ritual; it’s a matter of the heart. It’s joy, surrender, and gratitude.

Psalm 24 echoes that same theme. The psalmist cries out, “Lift up your heads, O gates… that the King of glory may come in!” It’s a call not just to the ancient gates of Jerusalem, but to the gates of our own hearts. God desires to enter—fully, personally, intimately. But the psalm also asks: Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? The answer is not the perfect, not the powerful, but the one with “clean hands and a pure heart”—the one who seeks God sincerely.

Then Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark, takes this message even further. When told that His mother and relatives are outside, He looks at the crowd around Him and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus is not rejecting His family; He is expanding it. He is revealing that God’s family is not defined by bloodlines, status, or proximity, but by relationship—a relationship rooted in doing the will of God.

So what does this mean for us today? It means that God desires a relationship with us that is real, joyful, and lived out in action. Like David, we are invited to rejoice in God’s presence. Like the psalmist, we are called to open the gates of our hearts. And like the disciples gathered around Jesus, we are invited into His family—not because we are perfect, but because we are willing to listen, to follow, and to love.

God’s family is not exclusive. It is expansive. It is open to anyone who says “yes” to His will, even imperfectly, even haltingly. Every time we choose forgiveness over resentment, compassion over indifference, truth over convenience, we are living as members of Christ’s family.

Today, the Lord stands at the gate of our hearts and says, “May I come in?” 

And He also says, “You belong with Me.”