JoytotheWorld

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, December 13, 2020
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

    “What goes up, must come down!”  Like the law of gravity, many of us have learned the hard lesson this year that suffering in life is inevitable.  All of us experience ups and downs in life.  For some of us, it might seem that just when things are going well, bad news comes like a punch in the gut, “It’s cancer.”  “Your last day is Friday.”  “He’s not going to make it.”  God walks with us through both the mountain top highs and the valley lows of our life, but we often wrestle with God when the inevitable down-times come. “Why did dad have to die?  Why did it have to be cancer?  Why’d I get into the travel business in the year of a pandemic? Why a pandemic in the first place?”
    I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, but here’s a little plug, this spring starting in February, our Saturday Bible study will be exploring the problem of suffering as we read the book of Job!  Today, though, is a day that is traditionally known as “Rejoice Sunday,” “Gaudete” in Latin.  We light the pink candle, pink being a symbol for joy.  As we approach the shortest day and longest night of the year, leaving fall and entering the coldest months of winter, this day reassures us that in the worst of times, in our lowest lows, God still promises us joy.
How do we find joy when life is difficult?  The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Thessalonians to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is God’s will for us to rejoice, pray, and give thanks, no matter where we are in the ups and downs of life.  And this is the meaning of Christian joy, which goes much deeper than a feeling of happiness.  It is possible to feel joy even at the death of a loved one, when we celebrate their life, give thanks for all the time we had with them, and know that their suffering is over.  We may be anything but happy, but we can have an inkling of joy.  It is possible when we face a life curveball like unexpected early retirement or losing our job that we are able to get through the initial shock to welcome the opportunity to start something new.  As painful as it can be, as we move through a process of grief, after acknowledging our feelings of disappointment, sadness, anger, guilt, and so on, we may be surprised to find joy, peace, and hope at the end of that journey.  Paul is encouraging us to grow in spiritual maturity in recognizing that joy can be a part of our faith stories especially when we go through difficult times.  In fact, we may not aware of a deep feeling like joy unless we have experienced a great trial in life.  And as we reflect on our personal stories of loss and hard times, we can probably even see that we wouldn’t be the people we are today without going through that adversity, no matter how much we don’t like it when we’re going through it.
    All of our scripture readings for today talk about joy as the other side of suffering.  The prophet Isaiah encourages people who are oppressed, brokenhearted, captive, mourning, devastated.  They will experience liberty, release, comfort, gladness, and good news. Paul is speaking to Christians in Thessalonica who are facing persecution for their faith, who thought Christ would return immanently within their lifetimes but hasn’t come back as soon as they’d hoped – they are disappointed and discouraged, frightened and doubting.  Our psalm promises restoration and joy for those who sowed with tears and went out weeping.  It is too common a myth that people of faith ought to go around pretending to be happy all of the time, especially when we’re really not.  That’s not what “rejoice always” means.  Rather, how do we look to Christ to be the source of our joy and see us through our hard times? How do we give thanks to God for all that we have in the midst of difficulties?  And, our honesty with others about our struggles can inspire others to persevere and know that on the other side of grief and loss is hope and joy!  Because while what goes up must come down is true with gravity, as Christians we also profess that what goes down must come up!  Out of the darkness shines a light, out of death comes new life.  Christ descends, and then he ascends.
    This year, more so than ever, how important it is that we as Christians share the joy that we have in Christ despite our difficulties!  In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss writes, “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.’”  The Whos down in Whoville are met with an unwelcome surprise that Christmas the Grinch takes away all of their presents and decorations and holiday roast beast.  But their first reaction to the disappointing news is to come together as a community and sing.  The Grinch can’t steal their Christmas joy.  We live in a culture that has tried to convince us that you can buy happiness with a brand new car, the trendiest toy, the flashiest jewelry or even a perfectly cooked holiday meal.  We have a culture that tries to fake happiness and stuff down negative feelings with legal and illegal drugs, alcohol, sex and food.  When we get thrown down into the valley of a tough time in life, we often learn the hard way that these things and these ways of living will not give us true joy.  They are temporary and fleeting.  Instead, we might find to our delight that the answer was staring us in the face this whole time, that Christmas doesn’t come from a store, that Christmas means a little bit more.  That the will of God in Christ Jesus for us is to rejoice, pray, and give thanks in all circumstances, and that the one who calls you is faithful.  Christ is born for us, and he brings great joy for all people!
    This is what we mean when we put signs on our cars and in our lawns that say “Keep Christ in Christmas” or “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”  The shopping, the decorating, the eating and drinking is just frosting on the cake.  I hope that this is reassuring for you to hear as you think through your list of Christmas preparations and to-dos.  The Christmas cards can arrive a little late – Christmas doesn’t officially end until January 6 after all.  Telling your family you love them and God loves them too is more valuable than any present you can buy.  Rather, of course, the true meaning of Christmas is that Jesus the Christ who was up in heaven with the Father came down to Earth to be with us, in the highest of highs and lowest of lows.  He came down that we might have joy.  And he came down so that we might be raised up with him to live life to the fullest and have life eternally.  What goes down must come up!  Rejoice always, Amen.