The man was troubled and his friends and colleagues urged him to go see a counselor. After some hesitation, the man agreed and made an appointment.
The sessions went well. And feeling that she’d helped her client navigate through the most critical phases in their work together, the counselor decided it was now time to ask a question: “What gives you joy?”
Has anyone, be it a therapist, a friend, or a relative, ever asked you this question?
Sometimes we hear it in the form of a statement, meant as a word of advice, a word to the wise: “Do what brings you joy.”
At first glance, these words sound trite, even superficial, something you’d hear from a character on one of those formulaic Hallmark movies. But on closer analysis, they do reflect a recognition that joy is central to a life well-lived, a life that is flourishing.
This is certainly in accord with the conviction of the Apostle Paul. For how else would we explain his command to the believers in Thessalonica to rejoice always, as we find in our epistle lesson today?
But what he tells them, as well as us who hear him today, he has known and experienced himself. Whatever counsel Paul gives to the people to whom God has sent him, he has tested for himself, even under the most trying of circumstances.
Earlier in this epistle, Paul recounted to the Thessalonians how he came to them from Philippi, where he faced strong opposition and shameful treatment at the hands of his enemies. However, it did not deter him. He was tireless in preaching the gospel to them, enduring toil and hardship, working night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone.
And his work was rewarded, because they welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. They thereby became imitators of Paul, even as they endured the same sufferings as he did.
Rejoice always? On what basis? It is clear in what we just said. It is the joy that God gives. The Psalmist states that in God’s presence there is the fullness of joy. This is God’s own joy. The prophet Zephaniah encourages God’s people by reminding them that God himself will rejoice over them in his own joy, that he will rejoice over them with singing.
Does it seem remarkable to you that you are God’s joy, God’s delight?
Nehemiah told God’s people assembled to hear the reading of the Law not to weep over the city and the temple that was at that time lying in a heap of ruins, but to rejoice in the Lord. On what basis? Because the Lord’s own joy is their strength.
Worship is an occasion for joy. For we worship, after all, a joyful God who gives joy. When we gather for worship, we wait in eager expectation for our God, who announces to us in Word and sacrament his salvation, to which our proper response should always be joy. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And renew a right spirit within me,” as the Psalmist prayed. This should characterize the attitude of our hearts each time we come to this place to worship.
God’s people should be filled with joy. We should remember that Christian witness, even Christian preaching and teaching, is not without an element of personal testimony. The one who is witnessing to us is saying, in effect: “Listen, this is what I have found. And it has really changed me for the better. And I want to tell you about it in the hope that you may find it for yourself, and also experience the same joy of discovery as I have.”
Karl Barth, who indisputably makes the short list of the greatest of all teachers of the Christian faith, once said this: “the theologian who labors without joy is not a theologian at all. Sulky faces, morose thoughts, and boring ways of speaking are unacceptable in this field.”
It wasn’t that Barth was a naturally joyful person; it was that Barth’s God is a joyful God. It was Barth’s appreciation of the beauty and glory of God that inspired his joy as a theologian—and as a human being.
Barth here sounds like a good Presbyterian when we recall the first question and answer of the Westminster Catechism: Question: “What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God… and what?.. and to enjoy him forever.”
Make no mistake. God intends joy for us, deep soul-satisfying joy.
To this exhortation to rejoice always, Paul adds further commands. The two immediately following are: “Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.”
Let us note that there is a thread that links together all three of these. In the first place, we may say that to pray is to give thanks. To be sure, prayer above all is petition, that is, it is asking God to provide for our needs. But asking is always accompanied by thanking God for what he has already given us. “With thanksgiving, present your petitions and requests to God,” as Paul tells the Philippians.
But we can probe deeper. The anonymous author of the nineteenth century Russian devotional classic The Way of the Pilgrim experienced the deep interconnection among these three: rejoicing, praying, and thanking.”
Here is what he wrote:
When I began to pray with the heart, everything around me became transformed and I saw it in a new and delightful way. The trees, the grass, the earth, the air, the light, and everything seemed to be saying to me that it exists to witness to God’s love for mankind and that it prays and sings of God’s glory….
Not only was I experiencing deep joy, but I sensed a oneness with all of God’s creation; people, animals, trees, and plants all seemed to have the name of Jesus Christ imprinted on them.
St. Peter of Damascus, the twelfth century Eastern Christian mystic and theologian, teaches us to do exactly what the author of the Way of the Pilgrim did:
He writes:
It is more necessary to learn to call on the name of the Lord than it is to breathe. We are to pray without ceasing. Man is to remember God at all times, in all places, in all circumstances.
If you are making something, remember the creator of all things; if you see light, remember with gratitude the one who gave it to you; if you see the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and all that is in them, you should marvel and thank the God who called them all into being;
when you are putting on your clothes, remember with gratitude the blessings of your creator and praise him for being concerned about your well-being.
In short, every action of every day should cause you to remember and praise God, and if you do this, then you will be praying ceaselessly and your soul will always be joyful.
Gratitude is good for your health. In 2015, researchers at the University of Southern California conducted brain scans on subjects who’d been primed to feel grateful. Here is what they found:
Grateful brains showed enhanced activity in two primary regions: the anterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex. These areas have been associated with emotional processing, interpersonal bonding and rewarding social interactions, moral judgment and the ability to understand the mental states of others.
Grateful people also experience fewer aches and pains and feel healthier, according to a study published in 2012. They are more likely to take care of their bodies, exercise, and schedule regular check-ups with their doctors.
Additional research has found that grateful people are more resilient in the face of suffering and recover more quickly from stress.
Gratitude and joy are mutually reinforcing. Popular author and psychologist Brene Brown tells how she used to assume joyful people were naturally grateful people. But after interviews with hundreds of people about joy and gratitude and after hundreds of hours reviewing case studies, she found something that surprised her. Her research showed that joy came out of a conscious choice to practice gratitude.
She writes:
Without exception, every person I interviewed who described living a joyful life or who described themselves as joyful, actively practiced gratitude and attributed their joyfulness to their gratitude practice…. When it comes to gratitude, the word that jumped out at me throughout this research is practice.
Brown later points out that there is an important distinction between an attitude of gratitude and a gratitude practice. The first doesn’t cut it. To say that I need to have an attitude of gratitude is about as helpful as saying I need to have a dieting attitude or an exercise attitude. The point is to do it.
So what do gratitude practices look like?
Here are a couple of examples:
A woman named Hanna begins her day with a half-hour devotional time, in which she reads from the Bible or a devotional book, and then prays. She decided that during this time, between her reading and her prayer, she would bring to mind two things in her life for which she is particularly grateful. Then during her prayer she will thank God for those blessings. After practicing this for two weeks, Hannah reported that she began to find herself more joyful during the rest of the day.
A woman named Ava has determined that once a week she will thank someone in her life who has blessed her. She will either email or call the person, making sure to let the person know how much she appreciates him or her (Examples drawn from Robin Phillips).
The Apostle Paul knows that such practices are fostered in community. That is why the next few commands that he gives concern the worshipping congregation. Worship is offered to God through Jesus Christ in the one Spirit. By the Spirit our hearts and minds are illumined so that we can understand and test the “words of the prophets” proclaimed to us and respond to them accordingly. Far from “quenching the Spirit,” then, we are to implore God to be present among us by his Spirit, who enables our worship, as well as our understanding and devotion.
Only by the Spirit are we able to discern truth from error, “holding fast to the good,” and “abstaining from every form of evil.”
Finally, Paul is concerned that the worshipping congregation is in good order in view of the coming of the Lord. That has been a recurring theme in the weeks leading up to Advent. Be sure that the Lord finds you at your post when he returns. Be sure that you don’t grow slack, because he will return when you least expect him. Be prepared, therefore.
We have been preparing. Two Sundays ago Jesus taught us about the apocalyptic events that precede the coming of the Son of Man, who comes to judge the quick and the dead. Last Sunday, John the Baptist called us to go with the crowds that thronged to him from Jerusalem and all the Judean countryside to be baptized in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. And if we didn’t get the message last Sunday, John makes another appearance in our Gospel lesson today.
But today we pause to savor the gift. Traditionally, this Third Sunday of Advent has been called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means: “Rejoice!” Let us be sure not to miss out on the joy. For if we miss out on that, then we have missed out on everything that makes this season meaningful and worthwhile. “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” said the angel of the Lord to the shepherds (Luke 2:10)—a theme that will be our focus next Sunday.
Here is the salvation that brings joy. Joy to the world! The Lord has come. This is a joy that will fill not only the hearts of God’s people, but all creation.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes (Psalm 96).
The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music (Psalm 98).
The verses from these Psalms capture the mood proper to the season in which we prepare to welcome Christ our Savior, the One who has made known the Lord’s salvation.
Dear friends, let us rejoice always. With hearts overflowing with gratitude, let us rejoice in the God of our salvation. Amen.