This is the third Sunday of Advent.
The theme of this Sunday is joy.
I am glad
that the theme is joy and not happiness. Joy is a deep inner feeling of
contentment while happiness depends on circumstances or happenings. I feel
happy when I get a new job or a new car or a new relationship. Happiness is often
fickle and temporary.
Joy is a
sense of contentment even when things do not go well. St. Paul was in prison
when he wrote what is often called the “Letter of Joy” – the letter we call
Philippians. In this letter he wrote:
“1Not that I speak [g]from want, for I have learned to be [h]content in whatever circumstances I am. know how to get along with
humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry,
both of having abundance and suffering need.
I can do all things [i]through Him (God) who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13
Several thoughts spring to my
mind as I read this.
First, joy is a discipline not
a natural condition of the human experience. No one is naturally joyful. Paul
said he had to learn to be content. From my many years of working with people,
I have noticed that people who are joyful have learned that life is much deeper
than whatever it is they are currently experiencing.
Second, joy is experienced in
all kinds of circumstances. I can be joyful when my bank account is full and
when it is empty. This does not mean that I have a “care nothing attitude.” I
do care when things are not going well, however, I have a perspective that is
bigger than the current situation. I know that my current experience fits into
a larger scheme of things.
Third, joy is a deeply rooted
in a spirituality that finds it hope and comfort in a personal God who cares
about everything even when a hair falls out of my head. While my faith may be feeble
or weak, God is not feeble or weak. God is my rock and my salvation. Joy comes
from knowing that God will see me through.
It is my prayer you will find
this joy in this season of Christmastide.
© Ronald Friesen 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment