the way of joy

The way of joy 121315

(Children’s message:  joy ribbons for ornament.  Chalk to share the joy with others in your neighbourhood.)

Rejoice!   Says the prophet,   Rejoice! Says Paul in his letter to the people in Philippi

Rejoice?  Are they kidding?   What’s to rejoice about?

In today’s messed up world, I’m more likely to listen to doom and gloom John the baptizer: Repent!

With the pressures of our lives……the slaughter of innocents….the ignorance of politicians…..the griefs of loss and hardship at this time of year….the bitter complaints of those who don’t get what they want…..Joy sounds like an unlikely response, maybe even inappropriate.  

What do you see in our world that makes it hard to feel joy?........

And yet, year after year, God sends out this message to Scrooge and Grinch Christians everywhere:  rejoice!   Know joy, and share it. Joy is not incidental to our spirituality; it is vital because it arises out of incredible, beautiful truths:

• We are beloved children of God—the Energy of the Universes is intimately interested in the state of human life, all life in fact—joy!
• We belong to God and to one another, even to those who are different from us, and diversity is a joy!
• We have amazing abundance in our lives, even when we are in the midst of pain or fear….before he died, Jesus said he wanted his joy to be in us, and our joy to be full!
• Joy, as is love, is the very character and energy of the divine, it’s creative and calls us to be co-creative:  what a joy!

What brings you joy, why do you feel it?........

That’s the WHY not and the why of joy.     In each of our texts today we see other aspects of the HOW of the way of joy:

In Zephaniah: the way of joy is a way of restoration.   Relationships are restored, promises are kept, transformation happens

In Isaiah: the way of joy is a way of sustenance, comparing it to a well of water….sustenance that comes from the very Presence of God in our midst.

From Paul in Philippians, the way of joy is a way of trust through prayer: prayer of thanks and prayer seeking help

And in our gospel, where neither the word rejoice nor joy appears, it would seem that the way of repentance actually brings change for the better: as we are changed, so is our behavior toward others, and justice becomes part of the way of joy.    It’s not always just about us;  making joy possible for someone else is also joy.

There’s the why not, the why and the  how of the way of joy….what about the when?

Zephaniah isn’t here to speak to a nation needing healing, but we are…..the joy of restoration is in our hands

Isaiah isn’t here to speak to a world needing strength in the midst of warfare, but we are…..the joy of sustenance is in our hands

Paul isn’t here to speak to a congregation needing spiritual depth, but we are….the joy of trusting prayer is in our hands

John the Baptiser isn’t here to speak to a people who’ve become self-centered, but we are….the joy of justice is in our hands.

We can choose to let the state of the world depress us.  Or we can be reminded of God’s activity of hope and peace always offered in times of hopelessness and harm.  It’s our choice.

I got this card this week – it has angels on the front, and the words “joy to the world”….it’s a lovely card, and I appreciate the thoughtfulness.   But it suggests that Joy is out there somewhere,  sung by heavenly angels in a starry sky one night long ago, rehearsed seasonally then forgotten for another year.

But it’s not….it’s in us, (sign) around us, as well as beyond us, for the receiving AND the giving: it’s in our hands but we don’t have to create it, just tap into it.  Now.   Not back then, in the good old days……not some day in the distant future….now.

2 simple three letter words: joy….now.

May we tap into the joy of God and scribble it, literally or figuratively, on our neighbours driveways and hearts.   Amen.