How do we best find joy?
That seems a topical question
linking the scripture of mid-Advent Gaudete
Sunday, the Premier Radio series from the village and some of our
experience in Horsted Keynes over the last week.
The Tree Festival pulled
people into St Giles and in so doing pulled the village together though its 29
contributors. Last weekend was for many of us a series of joyous encounters
picking up with people some of whom we’d not seen in Church before.
The Parish Council meeting we
so dreaded, which was for me a time of prayer, ended up being a time of relief
for many, touching on joy, with a sense that some of the suffering we’re going
through as a village over the plan has meaning and purpose after all.
The Premier Christian Radio
series for Advent from the village is about how people are finding joy in Jesus
Christ through the church’s ministry. Advent’s about the Lord’s coming near to
us and us to him and the Bible says ‘in God’s presence is the fullness of joy’
(Psalm 16:11)
‘Rejoice in the Lord
always; again I will say, Rejoice…. The Lord is near’ (Philippians 4:5, 4)
writes Paul to the Philippians in a passage we read this morning. Helping
people find joy in God is what the Church is about in its several ministries
and the programmes build from stories of transformation linked to social
action, spiritual direction, confession, evangelism and healing ministry.
You can hear some of these
stories by going online to the listen again site noted in the eucharist booklet,
but here’s a clip from one of the programmes on how we can get joy from
physical healing.
My name’s Jan Goodenough and I want to share about the joy of physical
healing received through Christian ministry. My first thought is that the real joy is not so much in the physical
healing, although that is amazing and life changing, but the joy that Jesus, by
his spirit, is blessing me, yes me, that for some mysterious reason he has
decided to manifest himself to me in this way. We all know he makes
himself known in myriad ways, and I, like all those that love Jesus experience
this but the joy of healing , well that was special. I was suffering from a
very painful back condition which restricted me in lots of ways. I worked
for an Orthapaedic Surgeon at the time and he and a colleague who was a
neurosurgeon, decided, after I consulted them professionally, that a
spinal fusion was the best way forward. I trusted them, and was inclined
to go for the operation. In the 80’s this meant a very long operation and
very long recovery time laying on your back. I was 40 and had a husband
and three boys, so the prospect was daunting, but so was the thought of
carrying on with the pain and restrictions this condition caused me.
But first, before agreeing to the operation, I decided to seek out the
vicar and the elders of my local Anglican church and ask for laying on of hands
for healing. They came round with oil as well, anointed me and prayed. I
felt a tremendous sense of peace and they left. That was Thursday, on
Sunday morning I awoke and new immediately I was healed. I jumped out of bed,
literally, did a somersault to the astonishment of my husband and went to
church full of joy and rejoicing. I am now 73 and am still rejoicing, if not
somersaulting.
Listening again to Jan – and I
recently played her clip with profit to someone in our congregation with a
painful back condition – I am connected afresh with the first reading this
morning. Zephaniah prophesied in the reign of King Josiah which dates to 640 to
630 BC. Overall Zephaniah has a message like that of Amos of God bringing
darkness on his people on account of their sins. In Chapter 3 however there’s a
remarkable picture which the Hebrew text indicates as a somersaulting for joy
like Jan’s – only it’s God jumping
for joy over his repentant people. Here it is half way through the passage from
Zephaniah 3v17 on p2: The Lord,
your God, is in your midst, … he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will
renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of
festival.
How do we best find joy?
By looking to God ‘in whose presence
is the fullness of joy’ (Ps 16:11) Joy, to use three s’s, is supernatural and
social and often linked to suffering. It’s not an emotion like happiness, though
it’s linked to happiness, it’s something from beyond our emotions that’s given
from above. It can be kept to ourselves as little as we can keep God’s presence
to ourselves!
We find God’s joy through
repentance and faith, as John the Baptist reminds us in the Gospel reading from
Luke Chapter 3.
One of the most joyful places
I find myself put in as a priest is that of hearing confessions. You can’t lose
out when you’re witness to people blaming themselves before God with the simple
task of providing assurance of God’s forgiveness. There is indeed joy from heaven! The
discipline of self examination and meeting up with a prayer partner or
spiritual director challenges our core selfishness. Loss of joy is a classic
indicator that in the core of our being we’re travelling alone, the joy of the
Lord is distant from us, and our attention has switched to be more on the
problems than on his provision to sort them.
Here’s a final clip from the
Premier series to be broadcast this afternoon. After I’ve played it we’ll have some
time to reflect:
Hello, my name is David Harper. Religion is a central part of my life -
I regularly attend church, I pray for help, give thanks and feel a connection
to God. I drifted from regular confession without realising, presumably as
someone didn't tap me on the shoulder remind me to do it. Following the
birth of my first child I went through preparation for his baptism, and
acknowledged the guilt I felt, with this lapse. My priest took me through some
steps to returning to confession helping bust some myths, breaking down the key
barrier of how I could go back after so long. The joy was instant, it was so
cathartic and healing. It was special too - the feeling was more real
than I recall as a youth. On reflection, I was flooded with relief of
facing the areas in life as an individual, a husband, a parent, a colleague, a
friend - where I fall short. Confession was a part of my life I had neglected
but started putting right. Sensing complete forgiveness has spurred me on. In
my life I've sensed a closeness, kindness and presence of God. What I hadn't
expected but did receive through confession was a very REAL feeling beyond the
thoughtful and other worldly, when you can sometimes feel distance from our
Lord. Sharing the experience with my wife had such richness in our early
parenthood but also in our married and Christian lives. When I look back at my path, I recall people
who are present or appear/pop up in my life - like super heroes- to help at
moments in time. I am grateful. The greater gift, however, is the
permanence of His capacity to forgive and, no matter how many times I go back,
He is always there, we only have to ask for forgiveness. There are so many offers in life that are quick fixes - but this is
longer lasting and somewhat more fulfilling.
