Pastor Tom Johnson, December 12, 2021
Today is Gaudete Sunday. It from the first word in our Scripture from Philippians: Rejoice! It’s a command that’s repeated: “…and again I will say, Rejoice!” Some churches have a rose-colored candle on the wreath for this Sunday of rejoicing. It seems a little premature, doesn’t it? We still have one more advent candle to light before we celebrate the coming of Christ. That’s when we will light the middle one for Christmas. But our Scripture does exhort us to rejoice today. And so this Sunday of rejoicing, it is especially fitting that we would return here today at 4:00 for our Christmas concert to fulfill this call on our lives to rejoice, be glad, and give God all the praise and glory for the gift of his Son through music and song.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Let the joy of the Lord be your strength all day and every day—no breaks to sulk—no days to throw pity-parties—no week-long vacations in the land of gloom. As Psalm 118:24 reminds us, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” What I love about this Scripture is the context. We are not just told to rejoice. This is not just a joy hit-and-run. The Apostle Paul gives us all the tools we need nurture joy, sustain joy, and grow our joy. He begins by urging us to publicize our gentleness along with our joy in the Lord. “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” The word gentleness can mean reasonableness, consideration, kindness, meekness. This is an attitude that brings authenticity to our joy—joy that is rooted in God, not ourselves.
Rejoice in everything—do not worry about anything. The worries and anxieties of this world are a very real threat to joy. This helps us understand the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness that’s rooted in the things of this world can be so easily taken away. Joy transcends this world because it is rooted in him “who is, who was, and who is to come.” The joy of the Lord will not be stopped by the little speed bumps of worry. Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything with thanksgiving. Prayer and gratitude will help us sustain joy and a joyful attitude. When we are worried about something, we only need to remember something we are grateful for. In that moment of thanksgiving, we remember that God indeed has a plan for us—not to harm us—not to abandon us—but to prosper our spirits and souls.
Recently I heard about the research of psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson. He says studies suggest that all of our brains have a “negativity bias.” He says negative things stick to our brains like velcro. It’s like our brains are made up of that wooly material that receives the negative material with its hooks and burrs. He says positive things hit our brains like teflon. Just like water rolling off the back of a duck, positive things seem not to stick no matter how many of them hit us. He says it takes at least 15 seconds of intentional focus to make something positive have a lasting impact on our brains. That is why we can receive a hundred positive messages, affirmations, emails, or likes on social media—but it only takes one negative one to cause us to stay up all night and steal our joy. It’s why we can allow one grumpy person to cast a shadow over us so that the light of 100 smiles the same day passes us by.
Rejoicing is a form of contemplation and meditation on the goodness of God—the goodness of who he is and his goodness toward us. Prayer and thanksgiving are the velcro that will make joy stick. Prayer and thanksgiving are also the teflon that will make negativity bounce off our brains like water off a duck. This is not living in denial of the challenges and negativity of this world. It is not to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. It is rather the reality and truth of God’s goodness which far exceeds and outweighs anything and everything.
We should remember that the Apostle Paul is in prison in Rome when he is writing this letter to the Philippians. Later in chapter 4 (v. 10) he rejoices greatly because of their concern for him. At the very end of the letter Paul sends greets from the saints “especially those of the emperor’s household.” Paul is rejoicing even while in chains because of the love of this community of faith and he is again rejoicing because God is building a community of faith right where he is—in prison in Caesar’s household.
And so we should take heart. There will be days when anxiety and negativity will get the best of us, things to be grateful for may seem few and far between, and joy may seem out of reach. But we can make this Scripture into prayer crying out for what God commands and promises: joy that transcends our earthly circumstances. As Scripture says: “Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:5). As another Apostle, John, says in his first letter (1 Jn 4:4), “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered [evil]; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” These Scriptures and more remind us that we do not need to surrender to the anxiety, negativity, and ingratitude that threaten to rob our joy.
In the middle of this empowering message Paul says, “The Lord is near.” Jesus is near us and with us in the hearing of his Word and ministry of his Spirit. He is near us in the washing of water with the Word and Holy Spirit. He is near us in the breaking of the bread—in our Holy Communion here and now.The joy of the Lord fills our cups to overflowing. We look back with confidence on the Christ who was born for us. We look forward to his promise to never leave us nor forsake us—but to be with us always even to the end of the age. There is a constant flow of joy from heaven to earth. And so we rejoice now with that same confidence as the psalmist does, “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23).
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