Even in Times Like These - Joy

A while back, I was trying to write a sermon on joy. However, in the back of my mind was the conflict in the Ukraine and, closer to home, a recent school shooting. That week, it was very hard to feel joyful. I found myself wondering: How can I talk about joy in times like these? 

The truth is, however, Christians have always spoken about joy even in times of intense sorrow or loss. In lived experience, joy does not come from escaping suffering or hardship. It often comes unexpectedly as a gift, even in the midst of it.

Barbara Brown Taylor describes the experience of joy as “almost irreverent.” She writes, “Joy has never had very much to do with what is going on in the world at the time. This is what makes it different from happiness, pleasure, or fun. All those depend on positive conditions… The only condition for joy is the presence of God… which means that it can erupt in a depressed economy, in the middle of a war, or in an intensive care waiting room…”

A few years ago, I received an email from my friend Charley Landreth, who had a stroke and lost much of his ability to speak. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and he wrote this: I am happy, feel fine, and receive excellent care. I still have difficulty speaking… However, (and he put this all in caps) I AM FILLED WITH JOY! 

Those who know Charley, know it’s true…

Paul wrote from prison: Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say rejoice! On his way to the cross, Jesus said, “I have told you all of this so that my joy would be in you and that your joy would be complete. 

My prayer for you today is that you would keep an open heart. Pay attention to the blessings around you, gifts even in amid the darkness.

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for inviting us to find joy in daily living. We remember that there are other invitations out there - invitations that can take away our joy. There is the invitation to be constantly productive, the invitation to be constantly entertained. There is the invitation to cynicism, to bitterness, the invitation to give into our fears or to allow our grief or pain more time than it deserves. We don’t want to answer those invitations, just yours. Despite our outward circumstances, we turn to you again this day, asking you to fill us with joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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