Readings
for Advent 3C:
Philippians
1; 4:4-9
December 17, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
“Rejoice in the Lord Always; again I will say, Rejoice.” [Phil. 4:4] A few weeks ago, Pastor Dawn was reflecting upon some of the differences between the customs of the Lutheran Church and those of the Episcopal Church. She was surprised that we did not “name the candles” on our advent wreath. I had never really heard of this custom of naming candles, but as I thought about it, there is absolutely no reason why our candles can’t have names too. So the question becomes: “What names should we give to these candles?” Maybe we could name them after our four favorite Archbishops of Canterbury! Or maybe we can name them after the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Or better still, maybe we could have a contest- Name that candle! We could charge our parishioners for the privilege of naming the candles and then donate the proceeds to Santa Maria Urban Ministry.
But as I thought about it further, it came to me that we Episcopalians do have a name for the third candle on the Advent wreath. The pink candle is called joy. It is called joy to reflect the theme of the third Sunday in Advent, which is about joy and rejoicing in the Lord. It is this subject of joy that I would like to address in today’s sermon. Joy is not the absence of sorrow. Joy is the emotion that results when a believer has full trust and confidence in God’s presence and power. Joy (not virtue) is the true sign of a Christian.
Joy is the overarching theme of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Let’s take a closer look at this epistle. In the first century, Philippi was a relatively small city of about 10,000 inhabitants. It is located in Greece, about 10 miles from the Aegean Sea. The congregation in Philippi was started by Paul and is the first known Christian congregation in what is now defined as Europe. It was the only congregation that financially supported Paul’s missionary work and so Paul had a close relationship with these people. His letter to the church in Philippi was written some 20-30 years after the death of Jesus. Paul wrote this letter while in prison. In spite of the fact that he is being imprisoned for a capital offense for which he was falsely accused, Paul is filled with joy and expresses this joy over fifteen times in his 104 verse epistle.
How can a person express joy when facing a possible death sentence for something he didn’t do? Joy is the deep and abiding confidence that all is well regardless of circumstance and difficulty. It is very different from worldly happiness, which is dependent upon what is going on in our lives. It is easy to be happy when things are going well. It is also easy to engage in a superficial cheerfulness during the holiday season. But joy is not a whimsical delight that comes and goes as chance offers it opportunity. Joy is based on what God has done in Christ and is continuing to do through the community of believers. Joy is not a transient, emotional response to a good situation, but a lasting confidence that develops as we deepen our relationship with God in Christ. Here are a few of my favorite quotes about joy:
- “You have put gladness in my heart…for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” [Ps 4]
- “In Thy presence is fullness and joy.” [Ps. 16]
- “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” [Jesus, John 15:11]
- “Your words [O Lord] were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.” [Jeremiah 15:16]
- “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” [Paul, Philippians 1:3]
- “For our heart rejoices in the Lord, because we trust in his holy name.” [Ps. 33:21]
- “Joy is the final word in Christianity.” [Forward Day by Day]
So how do we nurture joy in our lives? Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. When our lives, our choices, our decisions, are guided by the Holy Spirit, we naturally experience the fruit of the spirit: Love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. So the best way to experience joy in our lives is to center our lives in God. We are to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, body, soul, and strength. And then our neighbor as ourselves.
Joy comes from confidence in God’s abiding grace. So where do you place your ultimate trust and confidence? In people who fall short? In material things that grow old? In the stock market which has its ups and downs? In our government which is run by fallible people running for re-election? Paul placed his confidence fully in God, not material things or fallible people. That is why he experienced joy. People, places, and things will always disappoint us. This is something we need to be reminded of as we seek after the “perfect Christmas setting.” True joy is only found in God. Plain and simple. This does not mean that others cannot bring us happiness. They can. However, this kind of happiness is dependent upon the circumstance in which we find ourselves and it is fleeting.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul talks about the culprit which saps our joy. That culprit is worry. We have a tendency in Silicon Valley to worry about everything. Worry is that posture in life that can preoccupy our minds, cripple our resolve, and destroy the individual. Worry (or anxiety) robs the joy out of a believer’s life by cutting a crevice in the brain through which joy seeps out, drop by drop. The Dali Lama once said: “If it is fixable. No need to worry. If it is not fixable, also no need to worry.”
Knowing that people do worry, Paul suggests a way to address the overarching anxiety in life. He tells the people in Philippi to pray. “Prayer is responding to God by thought and by deeds, with or without words.” [BCP 856] The kind of prayer that Paul refers to is not a shopping list of desires. It is prayer seeped in thanksgiving, which may also include supplication for those in need. Gratitude is one of the best mental-health aids that anyone can every take. If you are worried or feeling sorry for yourself, spend time giving thanks for those blessings that you do have in your life. Remember Paul was in prison, yet he was filled with gratitude for the people in Philippi who sent him aid in his time of distress. The people in Philippi were also being persecuted, yet they were able to give thanks for the support of their community of faith and for their experience of Christ in their lives.
Finally, by focusing and serving others, our joy can be made complete. Perhaps one of the reasons many Christians lack joy is because they see their faith as an individual matter and not in terms of mutual respect and the care and concern of others. Paul’s joy was complete because others shared with him in the spreading of the gospel. Let me tell you a story that fills me with joy because of the concern of many others who gave of their time, talent, and treasure to care for a very disadvantaged child.
The story is about a mother of 4 children, who when her children had grown up, decided to become a foster parent. “Angie” was a 6 year old who had been born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. As a baby, she was put in a negligent foster home with no therapy and little attention. At age six, she couldn’t say a word, couldn’t walk, never ate solid food, had no stimulation, and was thought to be retarded. This Christian mother agreed to take Angie until another home could be found. The first thing she did was to try to get speech therapy. The social agencies refused because they felt Angie was untrainable. But after rattling many cages, a friend of this mother found a speech therapist who was willing to offer free therapy for a few months. It turns out that the child was unable to hear clearly because of ear infections and a poorly repaired cleft palate. A doctor took interest in the child and came in early to treat her at his clinic, free of charge, until her ears were healed. A trip the March of Dimes (to have the cleft lip and palate repaired) failed. But a plastic surgeon who was moved with compassion operated on her for free. Then came the need for eye/hand therapy, since the child could not even manipulate scissors. Trinity Episcopal Church raised money for a year of therapy and the Unitarian Church down the road volunteered to take the child on a four-hour journey each week to have the necessary therapy.
Through speech therapy, eye/hand therapy, lots of love, exceptional teachers, and perseverance, the child grew in stature and was adopted at the age of 11 by a very caring couple. Today, Angie has two AA degrees and a Bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State. She is married and works part time. And while she still struggles with her disabilities and has her disappointments, she is loved and equipped to walk in this world as an independent adult. Here is an example of someone who was misdiagnosed as untrainable. Someone who was mistreated as a child and whom the social services allowed to fall through the cracks. And yet Angie is a very loving person who holds no bitterness, no anger. Through the care and concern of many faithful people, joy has triumphed.
Joy is not the absence of sorrow. Joy is the emotion that results when a believer has full trust and confidence in God’s presence and power. Joy is the true sign of a Christian. So “rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice.”
| Updated 12/20/06 |
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