What should we do? That question springs to our lips as readily nowadays as it did in the time of John the Baptist. The Baptist gives his answers with a series of pieces of advice, Dear Abby style. St. Paul gives a more challenging, yet probing answer to that question in the letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice.” That’s what we should do? Rejoice? To which we (or at least I) am tempted to say, “Are you kidding me?” How can you expect me to rejoice then my heart is breaking! How can you expect me to rejoice when I am afraid of what the doctor is going to say! How can you expect me to rejoice when I feel alone! How can you expect me to rejoice when my family puts the dis- into function? But there it is, right in the Bible. Rejoice always. And he says it twice just to make sure that we get it. To make it even more challenging St. Paul adds to that “Have no anxiety at all.” Wow. Quite a scriptural admonition! Have no anxiety even living in a world with nuclear weapons, climate change, chronic racism, covid virus, 777 murders in Chicago so far this year, school shootings, an opioid overdose crisis, inadequate school funding, toxic politics, health insurance inequities and plain old death. Have no anxiety! Rejoice always! What are you telling us St. Paul?
Remember this is the same St. Paul who clicked off his list of troubles in a different letter. He wrote: Five times I received the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). The guy who went through all that says “rejoice always.” And it was not just St. Paul. Throughout the Bible we find the same requirement of joy. For example the first reading today from the Prophet Zephaniah: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel.” This passage is from chapter 3. In the first two chapters Zephaniah predicted the destruction of Judah for the evil committed by its occupants, that their religious and moral corruption had penetrated even into the sanctuary of the Temple. Destruction is coming: nonetheless, shout for joy, O daughter Zion.
Maybe the problem in understanding what the Bible is talking about in urging us to joy comes because we tend to equate happiness and joy, or maybe look on joy as on the spectrum of happiness. Although joy and happiness are related, they are not the same thing. Happiness comes and goes. Joy is a practice, a behavior. Happiness is an outward expression. Joy is an inner feeling. Happiness happens to us due to external circumstances. Joy is a choice that we make. Happiness is at war with its opposite, sadness. Joy, on the other hand, can co-exist with sorrow, grief, uncertainty. Happiness is just passing through. Joy lives in each moment. Happiness is a smiling face. Joy is a warm heart. The way the Bible thinks about it, happiness doesn’t bring joy, and joy isn’t the byproduct of happiness. In its truest expression, joy transforms difficult times into blessings and turns heartache into gratitude. So how do we make the shift from pursuing happiness to living in joy. The prophet and the apostle tell us. Zephaniah said, “The Lord your God is in you midst.” St. Paul wrote: “The Lord is near.” The Bible says we can hold onto joy no matter what when we feel how close God is to us. Joy is possible even in the midst of chemotherapy treatments, pooh-pooh diapers, phone calls about your warranty expiring, threats to democracy, and melting polar ice caps when we remember that God is with us always, nearer to us than we are to ourselves.
With God being so close the epistle goes on to tell us how to make the choice for joy: “In everything, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and minds.” Make your requests known and then you have peace in your heart, says St. Paul. Notice that it is not when our requests are granted that we have peace and joy. Answered prayer gives us happiness, but making the request in and of itself produces the joy. When we put everything in God’s hands we can rejoice. You see, Church, faith is not primarily about the statements in our Creed. Faith is trusting that the God who made the moon and the stars, who guides the currents of history and reigns in triumphant splendor – that God is near to us and cares about you and cares about me. The divine plan is always unfolding in ways beyond our ken to ensure our entry into joy. When we make our requests known to God we are throwing ourselves into the arms of the one who loves us just as we are. There is cause for rejoicing here for God has promised us that all will be well, all manner of things will be well. As they sang in Fiddler on the Roof: “God would want us to be joyful even when our hearts lie panting on the floor.” So let us bring our bruised and battered heart to God today. We will find joy there. We will find forgiveness there. We will find understanding there. We will find love.
