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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
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May 19, 2022"Ode to Joy"
I'm eating spiritual humble pie today. I am inclined to be a bit suspicious of testimonials of answered prayer that come in the packaging of 'flipping through the pages of the Bible, using a finger as the Finger of God to land on just the right verse for the circumstance.' A little too gimmicky for me. (Judgmental -- not a trait I would recommend in growing in a mature discipleship.)
But today, in these dark and dreary times when we can be forgiven for the temptation to lapse into despair, along comes the Word from Jesus as a portent of who he will be for us as the Risen Christ. What could we crave more than his comforting promises? Setting out his delicious spiral, he assures us that we are loved; we are as close to him as a branch is to the vine; he takes his joy in us (!); he is our joy, and with this joy we have all we need to live in joy and love with others.
Joy... Drum roll, please. My Bible Concordance lists 38 references. After love, joy is the quality most often associated with the Christian life. We know that joy is not excitement, nor pleasure, nor fun nor even happiness. Joy is profound, deep, unshakeable, permanent. Theologian Doris Donnelly likens it to a car's engine, purring unperturbed by the weather. Joy... a fruit of the Spirit where we are aware of and moved by life's happenstances but where our peace is not dependent upon them. It is our own 'let it be' versus a cynical 'nothing to be done.' We experience sorrow, sadness, grief -- and we express those emotions fully -- but our foundation is something more. In joyful gratitude we know that we are grasped and held and loved by a God of all circumstances. Not even death can cancel out our joy. (In the next chapter in John, Jesus will put a halt to all the disciples' speculation on heaven with the assurance, "You will see me again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will be able to take away your joy." This is a consolation I share often in the sympathy cards I write.)
Ultimately, joy cannot be pursued for its own sake. It is the byproduct of our faithfulness. In Greek, the word for grace is "charis," for joy "chara." Joy is the grace of freely taking delight in a God who takes delight in us. We can indeed sing "Joy to the World" in May.
"Watch out... you might be contagious" is the warning we might give children failing to use a Kleenex. But each of us carries the 'flu' -- not the disease kind, but the influential kind. We will affect every person we come in contact with today. Even if we are unaware of it, people will catch much from our mannerisms, our attitudes, the tone of our voice, the shape of our smile, a hand in friendship given or withheld. What will they catch? Will our indifference or our sourness kill joy? (There is a noun 'killjoy' for a reason.) Or will we be an example of joy in the Christ-centered life as our greatest tool for evangelization?