Choosing To Live Joyfully (Advent 3)

Philippians 4: 4-9

Roger Lynn

December 17, 2017

3rd Sunday in Advent

(there was technical difficulties with the audio for this sermon - hopefully we will get them resolved by next Sunday)
(click here for the video for the entire service - the sermon begins at 21:33) 

The theme for this third Sunday in the season of Advent is “Joy.” And it is worth noting that we sometimes get confused by the idea of joy. The words happy and joyful are often used almost interchangeably, and then we read something like Paul’s words to the Church at Philippi and it doesn’t make much sense to us. “Rejoice in the Lord always!” How in the world is that supposed to work? We think he is advocating some sort of Pollyanna-ish approach to life, complete with rose colored glasses and a painted on fake smile. We know what the world is like and there’s just no way we can close our eyes and pretend that everything is wonderful when it’s not.

But that is not what Paul is advocating. He understands very well indeed that life can be painful. This is, after all, the man who was shipwrecked on several occasions, thrown into prison more than once, run out of town under threat of death, along with various other hardships we can only begin to imagine. He is not saying, “Just put on a smile and hope it all turns out OK.” What he is offering is far more radical than that. He is urging us to choose joy. He is suggesting that when we choose to place our trust in God it actually changes how we experience life. The same stuff will very likely still happen to us. But how we respond to it will be radically different. 

What Paul understands is that there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness tends to be about the external circumstances in our life – what happens to us from the outside. Joy, on the other hand, is about our internal orientation. In his advice to the Philippians he is encouraging them to look beyond themselves and their own limited resources for handling life, and remember to stay connected to the true source of life. “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) He’s not saying don’t be concerned about things. He’s not saying don’t be prepared. Of course we need to do what you can. But ultimately there is only so much we can do. Ultimately much of life remains beyond our ability to control. So we have a choice. We can fret and stew and be unhappy. Or we can remember that even when we are not in control, we are, in fact, connected with the Sacred Source which is beyond any need for control. In the words of Paul, “...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds...” (Philippians 4:7) Even when the circumstances of our lives are bewildering and overwhelming we are being held in the embrace of the Holy.

It is a choice. It is always a choice. God’s presence is a reality either way, but we can choose to pay attention. We can choose to be aware. We can choose to let it shape our experience. It is, at least in part, a matter of where we put our focus. Again, Paul seems to have a helpful grasp of what makes for joyful living. “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) In the Summer 2003 issue of Yes! Magazine, David Spangler wrote an article entitled, “The Fires of Joy.” I’ve quoted from this article before, but I believe it is worth sharing again. It was written just as the war in Iraq was beginning. In very similar fashion to the words of Paul, he wrote, “Part of my spiritual practice is to ‘stoke the fires of joy.’ This seems to me especially important at a time when the antithesis of joy is unleashed upon us and upon the world once again.

There are many images I could use to describe what I feel here. One that comes to mind is of a lighthouse. When the storm breaks and all is fierce winds and lashing waves, it is a lighthouse that penetrates the darkness and keeps the ships from crashing into the rocks.

Now that war has come, we are on stormy seas. The rocks of despair and depression, anger and fear threaten to sink our inner energy and vision. 

Yet, around all this and permeating it, is the presence of what I think of as the sacred, and it has power, too. Its power is rooted in love and in the sheer joy of life, of engagement, of making connections, of being part of wholes larger than ourselves.

I think of joy as an inner quality that is like medicine within the world. It is healing and restorative, vitalizing and protective. In the days ahead, the spiritual forces will be called upon even more for healing and grace, regeneration and blessing. They in turn are empowered by the inner medicines we supply – the joy, the love, the vision, the forgiveness, and the gratefulness, the light that we can produce.

I believe we forget the power of joy at our peril, for when we lose it, we can sink beneath the waves and become, to switch metaphors, breeding grounds for the forces of despair and destruction, frustration and fear. We become part of the storm, not part of the lighthouse.” Mr. Spangler then speaks of two practices to help us stoke those fires of joy. “The first is simply to allow joy to be in us. I may feel in the midst of a world of sorrow and pain that it is somehow wrong or shameful or at least selfish to feel joy. But does my anger or fear or hatred or despair or depression remedy the world’s pain? Perhaps there are situations in which they can be of help by motivating me to change or to create change, but most of the time, they drag my energies down.

Joy is a quality that by its nature reaches out to more than just ourselves. It enlarges us, expands us, gives us a reason to keep on living and striving. Joy gives wings to my heart. Depression and anger are stones that weigh it down.

Will I become insensitive to the needs of others or the suffering in the world if I am joyful? No. I can be selfishly happy but not selfishly joyful. Joy does not blind my eyes to others. But fear, depression, despair can make me insensitive. They can lead me to denial. I try to escape into pleasure, distraction, addiction to avoid the pain, to blunt the suffering, to take the edge from despair.

Joy does not lead me to escape. It leads me to embrace the world with all its suffering and all its wonder and creative powers.

So do I have a right to be joyful? In a world of war and despair, do I have a right not to be? Shall I deny the world the gift of a buoyant heart and mind that can attune to the powers of spirit, the powers of love, the powers of the sacred, and the power of humanity to change and to grow?

Joy is not denial. Joy is not placid or resigned acceptance. Joy is a passion for the well-being of all and a courage to shape the world on behalf of that well-being. So the first step is to give ourselves permission to be joyful.

The second is to pay attention when life brings joy to us. It is a cliché, but still true that little things like sunsets and children’s smiles can bring joy. A flower can bring joy. Being with a friend can bring joy. For such a powerful force, joy can enter our lives in such small and trivial ways. Pay attention!

Keep alert! Joy can ambush us at any moment. It is a fierce warrior that wants our hearts as its captives, so it can liberate them to new possibilities and to a power to heal and transform. Surrender to its claims. Be open to its arrival. At a time of war, we should welcome the joy that is power, the joy that is peace, the joy that is medicine for the ills of the world.”

We can choose to embrace this quality of joy, and even more importantly, to be embraced by it. And whenever we make that choice we are transformed by it, and in so doing, we become participants in the transformation of the world. What will you choose?