Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you sustain our lives and make our hearts joyful ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” I’ll confess, I’ve been thinking about other things. Like many of you, this pandemic has upended my routines and daily life. Granted, I’m incredibly thankful to have a job that affords me flexibility, but that doesn’t mean it’s all been easy. I’ve been thinking about how frustrating it is that I can’t meet with you all for lunch or coffee. I’ve been thinking of how much I’d like to just get up in the morning and come to the office – because I really love my job and being here. But I’ve been home with our daughters since mid-March. Again, I’m thankful that I can work from home, but I’ve been thinking about how old that’s getting and how balancing my duties to the parish and my attention to a nearly 5 and 8 year old is a balancing act that I’ve never quite sure about. I’ve been thinking about how exhausted I am by partisanship that is destroying civility and prosperity in this nation. I’ve been thinking about my fears around what happens if we have a contested election in November. I’ve been thinking about how anxious I am about our stewardship campaign this year – because of the pandemic, the majority of the congregation hasn’t been physically present in seven months. Yes, we’ve had lots of spiritual connections, but how does that translate to stewardship? I’ve been wondering. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what the future of the Church will look like as we slowly emerge from this pandemic. Every time I am around others, I’m thinking about masks, distancing, and handwashing, wanting to avoid transmission of the Coronavirus. And amid all these things, I’ve been thinking about how drained I am. These are the sorts of things that I’ve been thinking about.
And
all of those thoughts have meant that I haven’t had as much mental space to
think about the true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and
excellent things of God. We heard St. Paul say not once, but twice, that we are
to rejoice. With so many distractions, I haven’t been rejoicing. Maybe you’ve
had similar sorts of thoughts over the past few months and like me, haven’t
been as joyful as we might be in light of the Good News of God’s love for us,
Jesus’ Resurrection, and the Spirit’s presence with us. There’s a novel in
which a character encounters a Christian who doesn’t seem to be as joyful as one
might expect given the Good News of the Gospel and says “You say you’re a
Christian; then where the devil is your joy?” It’s a good question. Are we Christians
known for our joy, or something else?
After
all, the word “Gospel” literally means “Good News.” The Gospel is the fresh,
startling, urgent, and joyful declaration that God so loves that world that he
sent his Son into the world that we might partake of his abundant life. This is
what Pope Francis wrote about in a 2013 address called Evangelii Gaudium – the joy
of the Gospel. But life has a way of distracting us from this joy and shifting
our attention elsewhere. Certainly, St. Paul knew about such distractions. This
letter to the Philippians was written from prison. The future of his missionary
work was in jeopardy, as was his life. And, as we heard in today’s passage,
there was some sort of conflict going on in Philippi between Euodia and Syntyche.
He certainly had distracting thoughts surrounding him that would suck the joy
right out of most of us. And yet, he writes “Rejoice in the Lord always; again
I will say, rejoice!” And then he says “Do not worry about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
known to God. And the God of peace of God, which passes all understanding, will
guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” I don’t know how your minds work,
but for me, being told not to worry doesn’t quite do the trick. Knowing this
about human nature, St. Paul gives us some guidance on how to focus on joy.
We
are to think about the things that are true, meaning those things that are
essential and unwaivering, things like God’s love for us. We are to think about
what is honorable, which is pretty much a way of saying stop watching so much
of the news. Focus on what is just and righteous, pure and holy. Consider that
which is pleasing, and here the word is related to friendship – so think about things
we hold in common, like our faith. Think about things that are commendable and
excellent, that is, things that are virtuous, good, and worthy of being shared with
others. Focus on these sort of good and holy things.
And
by giving us such specific instructions, St. Paul really is helping us to
rejoice. We know from behavioral psychology that our thoughts really can change
our moods. For example, when you’re feeling a little blue, making yourself smile,
even if you don’t feel like it, actually tends to make you feel happier. The brain
knows that smiling is a good thing, and so endorphins are released when we
smile. So even if we didn’t start happy, a smile can make us happy. It can be
the same thing with spending a few minutes a day in silent contemplation – it lowers
our heart rate and calms us down. Singing hymns, even if you’re at home and off-key,
can do wonders for your soul. Focus on these things and the joy of the Gospel is
not far behind.
Last
week, on Sunday afternoon, I knew that all of those various thoughts I’ve been
having were taking a toll on me. I felt run down. Thankfully, I am blessed with
a supportive wife who told me to take some time for myself. So I went to a
place that often helps me slow down and connect with God – the Fred Stanback
Ecological Preserve. There are some wonderful trails to walk there. It gave me
the time and the space to simply be instead of trying to do. And it doesn’t
always happen, but God gave me a sign while I was on my walk. At one place on
the trail, there was a large tree that had fallen but was suspended across the
path because it landed on a rather small tree on the other side of the path,
and that kept the large tree from falling to the ground. Before walking under
the large trunk, I gave it a good look to make sure it seemed safe enough
because in 2020, you can’t be too sure about anything. Now, I don’t always receive
revelations like that, but I did this time. And, at least to me, the message
was clear – small things can bear tremendous weight. All those things that I have
been thinking and worrying about are heavy. But in thinking about what is true,
and honorable, and just, and pure, and excellent can be enough to sustain us
even when we are carrying heavy burdens. By doing small things to help us remember
the grace of God – things like a walk, or prayer, or listening to music – these
things can bear much weight. For, indeed, Jesus is with us and helps us to
carry our heavy burdens.
A
focus on Jesus really is what makes the difference here. What makes this
rejoicing possible, even when we are dealing with a lot is the fact that “the
Lord is near.” We are never, never alone. And that is why we can have trust and
hope that all shall be well. This is not because everything will turn out the
way we want it to, but because the God of peace is always near. And notice that St.
Paul does not tell us to do what is honorable, or just, or commendable. No, we
are told to think about those things. Jesus is the one who does what is
excellent and worthy of praise. We don’t have to be our own saviors. We don’t
have to earn the peace of God which passes all understanding. It’s already been
given to us. We think on these things and are transformed by the grace, mercy,
and peace of Jesus.
Consider
the parable we heard from Matthew. It’s a fascinating parable that deserves much
more attention than I’m going to give it. I want to skip to the part about the
robe. One scholar has noted that for the early Church, this symbol would have
been unmistakable – the robe is the Baptismal garment. Baptism is about pure
grace. It doesn’t matter how dirty you are when you come to the waters of Baptism,
God makes us all clean. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes we’ve made along
the way, there is no quiz required for Baptism. In a world where we think that
we are supposed to go out and make a difference, Baptism counters that is
actually we who are made different. This is why at St. Luke’s we don’t invite
people to come and make a difference, we invite them to come and see the
difference that Christ makes. And, of course, what we’ll soon discover is that
the difference that Christ makes isn’t just out there, but it happens in our
hearts and minds as we come to know and trust the peace of God that passes all
understanding. And this difference-making love is given to us by God who
chooses us, who invites us, and who clothes us in grace.
The
Gospel is about exuberant joy – a joy that is lively, growing, and overflowing.
Joy does not take away sorrow and anxiety, but as the great 20th-century
theologian Karl Barth said, joy is a “continual defiant ‘nevertheless.’” And
this is can be the case because Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One, is always
with us. As this week’s Collect puts it, grace always precedes and follows us.
We are surrounded by God’s love, and so we rejoice in response.
That
word, rejoice, is cairw in Greek, which
is a festive and celebratory word. And it’s also the same word family as “grace.”
And you can even hear how it’s related to another word: eucaristw – where we derive our word “Eucharist” which is about
grace and thanksgiving. And the Eucharist really is a wonderful reminder and definition
of joy – as it is a meal of fellowship, of Christ’s presence, of assurance and
hope of Resurrection even in the midst of the difficulty and suffering of the
Cross.
There’s
so much out there to distract us, to divide us, to disenchant us, to dishearten
us. It is a heavy time and many of us have been carrying burdens through all of
this. But focusing on the fact that the God of peace is near to us gives us the
support to sustain us. My dear brothers and sisters, think about the grace,
mercy, and peace of the Eucharist. Think about the difference Christ has made
in your life through St. Luke’s. Think about the things of our faith that are
good, and commendable, and pure, and true. And in doing so, we will encounter
the joy of the Gospel.
Sometime
this week, focus on something that gives you joy and find rest for your soul.
Do something that makes you aware of God’s presence. Think on the holy things
of God. Let your heart and soul sing: Joy to the world! the Lord is come: let
earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature
sing.
