Sermon Notes for October 15, 2017
Read Philippians 4:1-13, where Paul gives a final greeting to the church at Philippi; and says, among other things:Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (vs 4-7)
Dallas Willard once said, "We should, to begin with, think that God leads a very interesting life, and that God is full of joy. Undoubtedly God is the most joyous being in the universe. The abundance of God's love and generosity is inseparable from God's infinite joy. All of the good and beautiful things from which we occasionally drink tiny droplets of soul-exhilarating joy, God continuously experiences in all their breadth and depth and richness."
I love the image of God as being full of joy. In many ways it is the opposite of the stern, demanding God, full of judgment that is the first thing that comes to mind when some people think of God. I love this image so much, that I use part of this passage as a blessing in every wedding I do, reminding the couple to be joyful long after the honeymoon glow has faded.
Because joy is different from happiness, isn't it? Happiness can be thought of as more of a temporary, emotional condition, often based on outside circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, is deeper. It is often contentment in spite of the unsettling present. It isn't depended on outside forces, but instead on how we see the world. We can be basically joyful, regardless of a particular unhappy situation that we may be enduring. It is sometimes just a matter of keeping perspective on our troubles, and especially when those troubles seem to be in long supply.
Joy is not only valued in our culture but the effects of joyousness may make this quality a lifesaver. A National Public Radio program a number of years ago, discussed a study where researchers wanted to know why nuns lived so long. So they researched the nuns who had lived long lives. The study clearly demonstrated two common qualities that these holy long-livers shared in common: they saw the big picture of God at work in the world and they demonstrated a profound sense of joyfulness.
Joy-filled people are aware more than others, that no matter what happens to them or to their world, the Big Picture is that God seeks to redeem and reconcile all of creation through Jesus Christ. That's what will keep us from getting mucked up in the minutiae of daily details. That's joy!
In Philippians we hear of this powerfully inspiring delight of joy. Paul practically trips over himself in getting joy into the minds of his beloved congregation. It's like he is joy-crazed!
Why rejoice? Certainly it is not because of his or the church's circumstances; Paul doesn't even know if this imprisonment will result in his death or his release, so he isn't basing his rejoicing on the possibility of his legal and political freedom. Paul has learned to rest his reasons for rejoicing on more solid ground. His purpose, his meaning in life, his reason for being content and thankful is founded upon nothing else but Jesus Christ.
The joy in the midst of difficulty that Paul shows is something that draws us all. Paul has been disappointed. He wanted to preach the gospel in other places, but now he is imprisoned. How does a person handle such disappointment? Many of us would spend our time whining or at the very least, feeling sorry for ourselves. It is not easy to have dreams dashed or expectations shattered. Nor is it easy to move from independence to dependence on what others decide for you as Paul found in prison. We want that joy for ourselves.
Frederick Buechner spoke of Paul here saying,
"Yet 'the Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything,' Paul writes, who was evidently in prison at the time and with good reason to be anxious about everything, 'but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.' He does not deny that the worst things will happen finally to all of us, as indeed he must have had a strong suspicion they were soon to happen to him. He does not try to minimize them. He does not try to explain them away as God's will or God's judgment or God's method of testing our spiritual fiber. He simply tells the Philippians that in spite of them—even in the thick of them—they are to keep in constant touch with the One who unimaginably transcends the worst things as he also unimaginably transcends the best."
In other words, Paul had every reason to be depressed, but instead he wrote: "Rejoice in the Lord Always." He had every reason to complain and plead with God about his dire circumstances, but instead he wrote: "...with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God." He had every reason to look on the dark side of his circumstance, but instead he wrote: "...whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable... if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." He had every reason to give up, but instead he wrote: "I press on... I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
Paul reminds the Philippians that what we focus on, what we think about, will affect how we go through life. Our thoughts will add or subtract from our experiences of peace, wholeness, and community. "Think about these things:" kindness, goodness and honor rather than divisiveness, scarcity, and polarization. What we pay attention to in our thoughts, grows in our lives.
This is a particularly hard counsel in the world today, when we are bombarded in the 24/7 news cycle by the pettiness and greed of political leaders, who sow chaos, anxiety, and fear and promise they are the ones who will save us. But affirmative thinking is not denial but instead looks beyond the boasts of those who promise everything and can deliver nothing. In contrast, Paul's words invite us to become agents of a better world by imaging and living by a different set of values than those who counsel fear and hate.
There is a supposedly Cherokee legend about a grandfather teaching his grandson about life.
"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The grandfather simply replied, "The one you feed."
If we spend all of our time focusing on thoughts of anger, of resentment, of hate, that will become who we are. But if we spend our time focusing on thoughts of gratitude, of kindness, of care, that is who we are. If we focus our thoughts on the God who loves us, we can find that joy that Paul is sharing with us today.
Maybe it is true after all, as one writer has said, that joy is the surest sign of the presence of God. Joy comes from a deep sense that God is present in the universe and does turn everything in the end towards God's work. Joy comes from the relationships that form around our hope and faith.
So today we remind ourselves of this fundamental truth of our lives. Joy is the buoyancy of gladness that comes from seeing the big Picture of God. Joy is the little cork that bobs on the unpredictable waters of life. The waters are calm one day and stirred into whitecaps the next. Yet joy never sinks - it functions by a different law that keeps up afloat come what may. Joy sustains us on our best days and also on our worst.
That's why the prophets can speak of joy when everyone else sees only invasion and destruction; that's why an imprisoned Christian leader can write from jail with such joyfulness. That's why our communities of faith can be resilient even when things aren't going their way. And that's what God is after in our personal lives, to grow within us some of the very stuff of God, joy, so that we may indeed rejoice in the Lord always.
