Joy Promotes Positivity: Advent 3.
Isaiah 35: 1 – 10; James 5: 7 – 10; Matthew 11: 2 – 11
Isaiah 35: 1 – 10; James 5: 7 – 10; Matthew 11: 2 – 11
“The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy.” (Samuel M Shoemaker: Preacher & Priest) Uummm!
“Christian eschatology has never thought of the end of history as a kind of retirement or pay day or accomplished purpose, but has regarded it totally without purpose as a song of praise of unending joy, as an ever-varying dance of the redeemed in the Trinitarian fullness of God, and as the complete harmony of soul and body. [Jürgen Moltmann, Theologian]
This third Sunday in Advent we lit the Joy Candle. Joy is today’s theme. Joy is the mark of Christmas. Hence we sing songs of praise and glory. Joy was the mark of the first Christians. Luke describes the disciples, in spite of suffering persecution, being filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. [Acts 13:52] Joy, not jolliness or a smiley face, but joy is what characterises Christians. Joy arises out of hope and peace. Joy is evoked by hope that springs from the promises of God and the peace of God. Remember hope is one of the primary sources of healthy living. Remember peace is much more than the absence of conflict. Joy is that feeling that pervades our being even when the storms and calamities of life strike us. Joy lies in shadows of our lives waiting to be awakened by God’s love, God’s grace and God’s presence.
Now we tend to associate joy with happiness. But in that association we have tended to think that joy like happiness comes as a result of something good happening to us. A deeper reflection on the concept of joy reveals that joy is not dependent upon some happy event in our lives. There are a number of elements that go to make up joy. I will identify some of them to help us cultivate deep joy in our lives.
The first element is that Joy is a gift. Albert Einstein said; “Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.” Einstein understood that the very act of studying nature resulted in joy. There is a theological logic there. To study nature is to study God’s at work. Joy is a gift that seems to reside in the very nature of this world. No wonder then that men and women of faith have understood that joy is God’s gift to us. We see proof everywhere in God’s creation – birds singing, animals leaping, flowers blooming, brooks bubbling and sun and moon shining. No wonder NT writers encourage us to set our hopes on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [1 Tim 6: 17] Thanks why we say grace at mealtimes.
The second element is that joy is in our control. It is right to treat ‘joy’ as a gift, but it is not a gift we must wait for or hope for. It is already given to us. It is a gift given that we can open. We can close ourselves to the gift of joy or open ourselves to that gift. Helen Keller, who learnt to cope with blindness and deafness, said; “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”
I believe that it lies within us to choose to enjoy this world or not. But it is possible to be so hurt by life that to trust anyone becomes difficult. So instead we build a wall – a set of defenses – and though they may protect us from some hurt they also shield us from experiencing joy. Some may have their senses marred by disappointments and broken trusts. Such experiences colour the way we see life and may lead us to suspect the worst in things. We need to develop a positive approach to counter the negativity. We’re all a little tainted with negativity, some to a point where the negativity suffocates the spirit.
The third element of joy begins with gratitude. Practising gratitude is the antedote of negativity and cynicism. Wake up each morning with a sense of gratitude. Thank God for being alive, for the warm bed you have have risen from, for the promise of the food that you will eat, the family and / or friends you will talk to, the people in the community who offer a smile, the sunlight on the flower and … one could gone on. I will quote the words of three significant people for you to ponder.
William Arthur Ward, a writer said. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
Karl Barth, a great 20th century theologian said. “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”
The Buddha. “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
Karl Barth, a great 20th century theologian said. “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”
The Buddha. “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
Growing Joy: We can grow joy. Loving others and especially loving God is the major pathway to growing joy. Growing joy is more about giving than receiving as Scripture reminds us [Acts 20:35]. Little practises of gratitude produce joy, whether the gratitude is for oneself or others. [1 Thess. 5: 16-18; Roma 12: 15] The equation of joy is: add humility, forgiveness, faith, hope, patience and love to life, then take away resentment, anger, fear, worry, materialism, greed, jealousy, complaining and pride. The outcome is JOY. Think of joy as a strong foundation that supports a variety of healthy emotions, including happiness. Joy builds in us contentment, optimism, a sense of freedom and general positivity. These are the measurements of joy, not a smiley face.
The Bible speaks of joy more often than happiness. Happiness results from something good happening. Joy is a deeper feeling. God wants us to be joyful. Jesus said that his joy would be in us and that no one will take it from us [Jn 15: 11; 16:22]
What about sorrow? Can we be sorrowful and joyful simultaneously? Yes. Christians can be sorrowful and joyful at the same time. There is the sorrow of repentance: sadness that we have failed God and others and we come to God for forgiveness. When we are most sorrowful before God we are closest to the joy of being forgiven. Grace thus experienced is truly amazing. Another example of sorrow and joy combining is in our mourning for the suffering and evil in the world. Jesus says blessed are those who mourn because their hope is ultimately in God. [Mt.5:4] Jesus had great joy, which he passed on to his disciples [John 17:13], but he also experienced great sorrow and not least in the Garden of Gethsemane [Mt 26: 37-39]. We experience sorrow in the presence of death yet retain joy deep down because of our hope in the Resurrection. [1 Thess 4:13,14] Sorrow is far greater where there is no hope of the Resurrection. Though persecution produces sorrow it also carries with it joy, because our trials are not without hope in God and hope in God’s future [Rom 5:3].
I will end with a story to help us reflect upon our getting of and growing in Joy. Something to ponder.
There was a mediaeval king who regularly used the advice of a wise man. This sage was summoned to the king’s presence. The monarch asked him how to get rid of his anxiety and depression, how he might be really happy, for he was sick in body and mind. The sage replied ‘There is but one cure for the king. Your majesty must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy man.’
Messengers were despatched throughout the kingdom to search for such a person. But everyone who was approached had some cause for misery, something that robbed them of true and complete happiness. At last they found a man – a poor beggar – who sat smiling by the roadside and, when they asked him if he was really happy and had no sorrows, he confessed that he was a truly happy man. Then they told him what they wanted. The king must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy person. They had been given a large sum of money to procure such a shirt. Would he sell them his shirt that the king might wear it? The beggar burst into uncontrollable laughter and replied, ‘I am sorry I cannot help the king. I haven’t a shirt on my back.’ [Quotes & Anecdotes, A Castle (1979) p. 150.]
Messengers were despatched throughout the kingdom to search for such a person. But everyone who was approached had some cause for misery, something that robbed them of true and complete happiness. At last they found a man – a poor beggar – who sat smiling by the roadside and, when they asked him if he was really happy and had no sorrows, he confessed that he was a truly happy man. Then they told him what they wanted. The king must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy person. They had been given a large sum of money to procure such a shirt. Would he sell them his shirt that the king might wear it? The beggar burst into uncontrollable laughter and replied, ‘I am sorry I cannot help the king. I haven’t a shirt on my back.’ [Quotes & Anecdotes, A Castle (1979) p. 150.]
Is it possible to have nothing and still have everything?
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 11/12/2016
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
