Gospel in Art: That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full

Children’s Games, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1560 © Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 7 May 2026
John 15:9-11

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.’

Reflection on this painting

In these days between Easter and Pentecost, many young people in our parishes (and here at Westminster Cathedral) are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the First Reading from Acts of the Apostles, Saint Peter speaks of how God gives the Holy Spirit freely, pouring His life into hearts without distinction. It is this same Spirit that our candidates are preparing to receive in a new and deeper way. And when we speak to them about the gifts of the Spirit, we also speak of its fruits. Again and again, Peter and Paul remind us that just after love comes joy. The two are inseparable: love and joy given by the Holy Spirit. Where God’s love is welcomed and lived, joy begins to take root.

This is exactly what Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel reading: “I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.” The Lord does not offer a fleeting happiness, but a deep joy. And He shows us the way to it: to remain in His love. So many people spend their lives searching for happiness in all sorts of places, often without finding it. Temporary joys will last for a little while, but the are not the eternal joy that God cannot wait to share with us, to give us. And the Gospel is clear: joy is not something we take or achieve; it is something we receive! And when we open our hearts to receive this gift through the Holy Spirit, then true happiness can take root.

If we want to see pure joy made visible, look at our painting Children’s Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The whole town square is alive, bursting with more than 230 children, occupied in 83 games, completely absorbed in joyful play. There are no adults in sight. The world belongs to them. Everywhere you look, something is happening: children racing, climbing, spinning, laughing, inventing games, copying the world of grown-ups, and yet transforming it into something lighter, freer, more joyful. What is really charming is how serious they are in their play, utterly present, utterly alive. And yet, for us looking in, it is sheer delight. This is joy without calculation, without anxiety, just life being lived fully in the moment.

And perhaps that is why this painting is such a perfect image for today’s reflection. Children at play don’t worry about tomorrow, they don’t carry burdens from yesterday: they simply are in the moment, and in that being, they are joyful. Bruegel reminds us that joy is not something complicated or distant ‘to be obtained’. It is something given, something received and something to be lived in the moment. And maybe, just maybe, in the laughter and energy of these children, we catch a glimpse of the joy that Christ speaks about: the kind of joy that fills the heart when it is fully alive.

LINKS

Christian Art: https://christian.art/
Today’s reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-15-9-11-2026/