Sermons at St. John’s Presbyterian Church

Joy

Transcribed from the sermon preached December 9, 2007

 The Reverend Max Lynn, Pastor

St. John’s Presbyterian Church

2727 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705

Telephone 510-845-6830    Fax 510-845-6837

office@stjohns.presbychurch.net    http://www.stjohns.presbychurch.net

 Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10, Luke 1:26-55

 Joy is the theme of our second Sunday in Advent.  Many things in life give us joy.  When considering joy, one thinks quickly of children at play, riding a scooter, girls skipping, big eyes, chubby cheeks, wobbling toward mom. 

 All things that bring true joy are from God.  True joy is deeper than material life, deeper than our trials and tribulations, deeper than sickness, evil, sin or death.  God’s joy is eternal.  I did a little word study of joy.  I found 251 references to joy.  I will give you a few examples of those things associated with joy. Other expressions related are the verbs to rejoice, and to delight.

 There are quite a few references in the Hebrew scripture to the joy of victory, a battle won, peace achieved.  As me with my parents, some of you may remember the joy experienced at the end of WWII.  Victory might also be classified under the broad heading of deliverance, since in scripture God delivers victory. 

 Ps 149

[4] For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
[5] Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.

 I love that image of jumping for joy on your couch.

 Mary’s song carries many reasons for joy:  victory or deliverance, becoming pregnant, the hope and delivery of both justice and mercy.  

Mary’s song

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
[47] and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
[48] for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
[49] for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
[50] And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
[51] He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
[52] he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
[53] he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
[54] He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,

There is joy found in knowledge and wisdom.  Here again the joy of the parent, you might relate to the joy of seeing a child or grandchild graduate from school. 

Proverbs 29: [3] He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
but one who keeps company with harlots squanders his substance.

Of course we gain joy from our own learning and wisdom as well, and from teaching children and people who are not our biological children. 3 John 1:4 speaks of teaching the people in the church: No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth.

There is the joy, the delight of sensual love.  Song of Song chapter 2

[3] As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
[4] He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
[5] Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for I am sick with love.

There is the joy of married life:  Proverbs 5:18-19

[18] Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
[19] a lovely hind, a graceful doe.
Let her affection fill you at all times with delight,
be infatuated always with her love.

Big in the bible is the joy of harvest:  In Deut. 26 we see joy accompanied with the remembrance of deliverance and thanksgiving for the current harvest:

6] And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.
[7] Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression;
[8] and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders;
[9] and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
[10] And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;
[11] and you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

Nehemiah 8 shows the next step, which is to enjoy the harvest.  Again there is the implication that joy is from the Lord, a delivery, a gift.

"Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Connected to the joy of harvest is the joy of work, of doing good work and receiving the benefit.  Ecclesiastes 5:18

[18] Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot.

It is fascinating and beautiful that humans are not the only ones that enjoy the fruit and beauty of nature.  Nature itself sings forth in scripture:

Ps. 65

Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and the evening
to shout for joy.
[10] Thou waterest its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
[11] Thou crownest the year with thy bounty;
the tracks of thy chariot drip with fatness.
[12] The pastures of the wilderness drip,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
[13] the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

 [4] Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

 [7] Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
[8] Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
[9] before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

Is. 35, our reading this morning opens with

[1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus
[2] it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.

Ps. 96:12

Shows again the idea that when there is justice and equality all Creation celebrates with joy:  Justice and equity are part of the establishment of God. They shall not be moved:

[10] Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!
Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity."
[11] Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
[12] let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy!

We should be getting the idea that joy in Hebrew Scriptures is a shared quality.  Not that individuals do not have joy by themselves, but true joy, even of the individual is found when joy is shared.  That is, joy appears to be the product of justice, equity, wisdom, truth and righteousness shared among not only humans but Creation as well.  All of these things are product of God.  

When we are about these good things, we are tapping into God, into a joy that is not fleeting but lasts. 

Proverbs 12:[20] Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
but those who plan good have joy.

Ps. 37

[1] Fret not yourself because of the wicked,
be not envious of wrongdoers!
[2] For they will soon fade like the grass,
and whither like the green herb.
[3] Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.

[4] Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Goodness, justice, equity, truth bring security, and security bring prosperity, and prosperity joy.

In Ezra we find a deeper twist to our search for joy.  Sometimes joy is not only smiles and laughter.  Sometimes it is accompanied with tears and sometimes even as a part of grief. 

Our first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage.  Thus when Nicholas was born, I had a sense of relief so strong that my joy was accompanied with tears.  I have seen this many times ministering with families, when after a long trial some success, something gracious and beautiful finally happens, and we break down.  Sometimes in finishing a race we are so exhausted that our joy comes with tears.  Here the people have come back from Exile and a generation later they lay the foundation for the second temple.

Ezra 3
[11] and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever toward Israel."
And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
[12] But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy;
[13] so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard afar.

This of course leads us into the joy of grace, forgiveness and reconciliation.  When we have done wrong, or had wrong done to us, we are filled with guilt, shame, and anger.  The feeling of release is similar I have found between forgiving and being forgiven.  For part of our anger when we are hurt is at ourselves for not being wise or strong enough, for not being lovable enough to prevent others from hurting us.

We may become the prodigal son or daughter and lash out in anxiety or anger or violence toward ourselves or others, or we may take off, go the other direction from those close to us or from God.  We may find joy in fleeting things, but sooner or later our joy runs out and we find ourselves still hurt and lost.  But when we return we find that God loves us still.  God runs out to embrace us with joy.

Or, as we are lost and joyless, God comes to us.  God forgives us.  God has mercy on us. This is the joy we speak of in Advent, the advent of Jesus, the coming of the God of mercy and love to us.  For this reason says Elizabeth, John leapt for joy in her womb.  Even as we fall far short, many times over, God loves and takes joy in us, in all creation.  We discover that our joy is a branch of God’s joy, our love, God’s love.

John 15: I am the vine, you are the branches…

[8] By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
[9] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
[12] "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Again we find a deeper twist to our search for joy.  In Christ, with Christ, even when those material things that are so often associated with joy are absent, we may still experience deep joy. When victory is far from clear, when we are not enjoying the fruit of our labor, when we hunger and thirst and suffer from oppression, evil, sickness and death, we still have the power to be joyous as we live for the things of God.  When we know the forgiveness of Christ, when we champion justice, equality, wisdom, truth, forgiveness, peace and love, our joy may be complete.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
[2] looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.