Two weeks ago, we began a new series entitled: Batteries Not Included. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting play with your new toys and finding out the package had this hidden line - batteries not included.
2020 seems to be a gift without batteries. How do find hope, peace, joy and love in a year which seems to continually drain us of our energy.
We started this series by acknowledging the very real effects of COVID on our mental state and especially for those who have always struggled with thinking a little differently than “norm” (if there is such a category.) We normalized the labels and in so doing provided anyone hurting, hope. Hope, in the understanding we are all created in God’s image and therefore worthy of his love, peace and joy so when your batteries run low this season, remember Jesus in breaking into our reality was the beginning of hope for us all.
Last week, we talked about peace and more directly, the idea of Shalom or wholeness. The big idea was peace is not possible without an indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has only become available because of the birth of Christ.
With that being said, today, I would like to open another gift of the Holy Spirit this holiday season: Joy
St. Thomas Aquinas once said, "No person can live without joy. That is why someone deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures." And yet, pursuing carnal pleasures is a lie from the deepest recesses of hell. It only offers a temporary reprieve that actually cuts us off from a deeper, truer, lasting sense of joy.
The traditional advent rituals include an advent wreath symbolizing and reminding us of the benefits brought about through God’s inbreaking into the world as Jesus. Hope, peace, joy and love are the themes with the third week always centered on Joy. A special week for sure but not because the candle is pink but because of the deeper idea - living joyful in a fallen world is possible.
The traditional scriptures for this part of Advent come out of the 1st chapter of the book of John and 1 Thess 5:16-24. John tells the story of John The Baptist being questioned by the religious leaders of his day about who he is and what he is up to. To which he responds, I am here to announce the Messiah, the Savior’s arrival and tell everyone it's time to get ready people. It’s all about to change.
While John did his job, Jesus proved his status and a number of years later Paul reminds his friends:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Those words really get me. Rejoice Always?! Pray continually?! Give thanks in ALL circumstances?! Seriously? How in the world do people do that really? You’d have to be some kind of loon to be happy all the time, right?
Wrong. There is a psychological construct called the Pollyanna Principle. Courtney Ackermann writes in her psychology article: “The term “Pollyanna Principle” refers to the human tendency to focus on the positive and use more positive words and terms during a conversation. The term “Pollyanna Principle” is a case of life imitating art—it was named after the character from author Eleanor Porter’s children’s book Pollyanna, a cheerful and optimistic girl who always looks on the bright side.
Pollyanna played what she called the “Glad Game,” and what we might think of as practicing gratitude today. In every situation, no matter how sad or upsetting, Pollyanna tried to find at least one good thing. She’s so good at this game that she ends up getting her whole town to play along, and she makes a significant positive impact on the people of her town (Jones, 2014).
Although the tendency to be optimistic is no doubt a desirable trait that offers health benefits to be a “Pollyanna” is generally not considered to be a good thing. In fact, if you type “Pollyanna” into Google, you get this definition:
“An excessively cheerful or optimistic person”
That word 'excessive' explains the general resistance to adopting Pollyanna’s cheerful attitude; there is such a thing as being too cheerful and optimistic. We all have our down days and difficult moments, and none of us can be Pollyanna all the time. As with most things in life, a healthy balance of positivity and realism, a sense of our surroundings, and a working understanding of what is appropriate and when.
Joy, like peace and hope, is a gift from God. The root word for joy in the Greek is chara, which is closely related with the Greek charis for “grace.” Joy is both a gift of God as well as a response to the gifts of God. Joy comes when we are aware of God’s grace and relish His favor.
With this in mind, it’s evident that one way to experience joy is to focus on God. Rather than dwelling on our difficulties or those things robbing our contentment, we can dwell on God and his grace.
With that being said, as Christians our worldview should always be front and center as we assess any situation we face: The Lord is ALWAYS with us and therefore any suffering brings the presence of the Lord closer.
As Paul writes to the Philippians,
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
How remains the question of the morning. How do we “always be joyful”?
At this point, we could head down the self help craze and I could tell you to:
Start exercising, eat better, take more long walks in nature, let go of your past, find your passion, be more generous, forgive more, organize your life, write more gratitude lists, be more mindful of your thoughts, sleep more, pursue that dream or just stay in your own lane and stop comparing your life to others.
OR I could give you the only answer which will allow you to be joyful always:
RC Sproul said it best, “The key to the Christian’s joy is its source, which is the Lord. If Christ is in me and I am in Him, that relationship is not a sometimes experience. The Christian is always in the Lord and the Lord is always in the Christian, and that is always a reason for joy. Even if the Christian cannot rejoice in his circumstances, if he finds himself passing through pain, sorrow, or grief, he still can rejoice in Christ. We rejoice in the Lord, and since He never leaves us or forsakes us, we can rejoice always.”
More simply, Joy is fruit of the Spirit creating the realistic Pollyanna Christian response - everything is going to be alright because Jesus has come, is present today in His Spirit and he will return to make all things new.
A fact we celebrate every time we come to the table….
