Joy In Every Moment
Bill Barney
First United Metho=
dist
Church
January 11, 2009
“Rejoice alw=
ays,
pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the Div=
ine
will in Jesus for you.” &=
nbsp;
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
NRSV [adapted]
“Ea=
ch step we
make should be joy….If we are determined, we can do it. We don’t
need the future. We can smile and relax. Everything we want is right here in
the present moment.” (f=
rom
Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn)
This cont=
emporary
reading by Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hahn can be a real challenge for we w=
ho
are “followers of Jesus.”
And it can be even more of a challenge for those who think in
traditional Christian terms and have no qualms about referring to themselve=
s as
“Christian” – versus those who feel that term has been so
corrupted, it is no longer useful or definitive.
Christian=
ity
since the time of the early church has struggled with the concept of hope. =
It
became popularized when in the hardest of times people were directed not=
to put their faith in the present but to see their hope in the future of a
personal eternity. That direction was not very helpful to those who needed
support and a reason to live in the now.&n=
bsp;
Yet, the destination of life – hope for the future – bec=
ame
the common refrain of a church leadership which wanted people to be hooked =
on a
promise – rather than face the reality of the present – be it to
face sorrow or celebration. Too often and for too long the message of joy w=
hich
we have from the teachings of Jesus has been distorted to keep people depen=
dent
on the institutional church.
In the mi=
ddle of
the gloom and doom of the first century, Jesus’ followers – not=
yet
called Christians – burst on to the scene with their tidings of great
joy. The New Testament speaks of joy in at least 150 places. Joy was one of the marks by which =
these
folks were known; Peter being quoted as explaining the nature of this unfai=
ling
and triumphant joy: “You believe in him and rejoice with unutterable =
and
exalted joy” he says about a relationship to Jesus.
Listen the
following quote regarding the lack of joy:=
“Joy is not very much in evidence in the world today. Poverty =
and
hunger are still the lot of the majority. Even in the prosperous countries,
riches do not seem to have brought happiness with them. After [many] wars,
[people’s] hearts easily fail them for fear of what may be coming on =
the
earth. Many have lost hope in [eternity] and do not really know what they a=
re
living for. Such a world needs the message of joy just as much as the world
into which Jesus was born; today, as in the days of the apostles, Christians
ought to be known by the joy which no [one] can take from them.”
That quot=
e could
have easily been written today – but it was in fact written 50 years =
ago
by author and theologian Stephen C. Neill in his little book “The
Christian Character”. I=
n that
book Neill shares a commentary on the meaning of the nine fruit of the Spir=
it
as stated in the letter to the Galatians, stated as love, joy peace, patien=
ce,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control or
self-discipline. Notice that =
hope
is not listed because the fruit of this Spirit is about the present, not the
future.
“Jo=
y is not
very much in evidence in the world today” does indeed seem to be a tr=
uism
for all times. It does give u=
s a
simple and daunting look at our vocation as followers of Jesus: to live and
spread joy to all we meet. So=
how
is that vocation going for you? Is
the first or even second thing somebody thinks when they meet you: joy, joy,
joy! I am not thinking of the
impression folks get when we put on our Sunday morning smile and look like =
life
is good. I am thinking of what each of us can share with another – in
church or on the street – that will really sound a note of positivity=
and
possibility for life today.
If we are=
going
to exude this joy that supposedly comes from being a follower of Jesus, it =
will
help for us to know what it isn’t.&n=
bsp;
The following descriptions are informed by Stephen C. Neill’s
commentary – not only by my 40 years in the business of making sure
people hear about our vocation to live and spread joy.
First, jo=
y is not
the same as pleasure. We may use the word ‘pleasure’ of that wh=
ich
comes to us from things, and through our senses. Some have held the view that all
pleasure was bad in itself. This is false. Certainly some pleasures are not
good and may even be dangerous. But the Scriptures do teach us that The Sou=
rce
of Life ‘richly furnishes us with everything that is pleasurable̵=
7;.
Yet the nature of pleasure is that at any moment it can be taken from us.
Second, j=
oy is
not the same as happiness. Happiness we may regard as that which comes from people and through fellowship.
This is higher than pleasure. Pleasure can be very selfish. Real
happiness can come only when we give ourselves to others, and receive them =
as
they give themselves to us. We have been set here to live our lives with fa=
mily
and/or friends. This is certa=
inly
intended to be chief source of our happiness. But, like pleasure, happiness=
can
be taken away from us. Most of us have had at some time, shared sorrow R=
11;
our’s personally or someone else’s on the death of a loved
one. Some people often bear t=
heir
loss with great courage, but we know, and they know, that happiness such as
they have had in the past can never come to them again.
So, what =
about
joy? Joy in the sense that Jesus uses the word, is something that can never=
be
taken from us. Pleasure can fail; happiness can be taken away. Where then is
joy to be found? It is found in those of us who have gotten to a place in l=
ife
where we have with near certainty, a faith that the well lived life of Jesus
will teach us and sustain us through all challenges and in the celebration =
of
daily blessings.
The joy t=
hat
knowing this Jesus gives can dwell so deep in our hearts that nothing can t=
ouch
or harm it. All earthly things may change – and they surely will R=
11;
but the joy that comes from knowing Jesus remains with us forever, once we =
get
it.
Now let&#=
8217;s
face it says Stephen Neill: “the ordinary group of worshipping
Christians, as the preacher sees them from the pulpit, may not look like a
collection of very joyful people; in fact, they look on the whole rather sa=
d,
tired, depressed people. It is certain that such people will never turn on =
the
world to the joy we can know in Jesus. But sometimes the preacher does not =
look
very much like one who is bringing the Good News. If this is true, the
situation is serious. It is no use trying to pretend. We may speak of joy a=
nd
preach about it. But unless we really have the joy we can know from Jesus in
our hearts and manifest it, our words will carry no conviction to our heare=
rs
or those who see us, whether Christian or non-Christian.
In today&=
#8217;s
lesson we have Paul encouraging the Thessalonians to “Rejoice always,
pray constantly(without ceasing) and give thanks in all circumstances.̶=
1; Now there are three tough but worthy
challenges. We are not likely to do the second and third if first we do not
know joy and practice it. And, therein is the point. It is only when we practice joy th=
at we
can know joy. An intentional diet of joy is necessary to a life lived as pr=
ayer
– as in pray without ceasing – and a life which can find reason=
for
thanksgiving in even the worst of time.&nb=
sp;
Neither can be accomplished without joy.
Don’=
;t worry
if you feel like you are not already full of joy, even if you are older. Joy
doesn’t necessarily come with age. It comes with a decision that I wi=
ll
find some joy in every day. As our friend Thich Naht Hahn has said in the
contemporary reading this morning – when you are tempted to turn to h=
ope
and put off some important decision or relationship change to the future: s=
ee
if you ”can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into=
the
present moment and discover that joy that is already here.”
Looking f=
or
joy? There is joy in every mo=
ment
if we will force ourselves to stop and find it. Pleasure may fail, happiness
can be taken away but once we learn to find joy, we will find it in every
moment. Shalom.
3