3 Advent.C.24
Philippians 4:4-7
The Rev. Melanie McCarley
In 2009, London buses became the site of a religious debate. The Rev. Lyndon Shakespeare, observed that a group in England paid for advertising space on the side of London’s public transport. Instead of promoting the newest movie or latest gadget, the space purchased by concerned British atheists promoted the following message: “There’s probably no God: Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Not to be outdone, a local media CEO released a response (also printed on the sides of buses) for the British public to consider: “There is a God. Don’t worry. Enjoy life.”
I suspect that neither of the messages produced many converts. What makes the bus sign scrimmage intriguing, at least in my mind, is the invitation to enjoy life. The fact that both messages end with appeals to a good life is not insignificant. The atheists are happy without God, the believers well, we cannot be happy any other way than with God.
The real challenge is making a case for a life of joy. What does a life of joy look like? Specifically, for us this morning, the question is: Where does God fit in your expectations of what makes for a joyful life? Where is true joy to be found?
The difference between an atheist making an appeal for the good life, and that of a Christian, is the object of our ultimate attention. As Christians, we confess in word and deed that the cause of all that is good and joyful is God and God’s divine love. Instead of finding the fullness of joy in other perfectly wonderful objects such as a sunset, or football, a pet or our favorite car, we join with St. Augustine when he says: “As soul is life for the flesh, so God is the blessed life for man. Our true end and goal in life is found in God and his joy.”
In the liturgical life of the church, today, the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally called “Gaudete” or “Rejoice” Sunday. It is a Sunday of joy. In many churches, the darker hues of blue and purple are set aside for a lighter, happier rose. The lectionary expounds upon this theme. The prophet Zephaniah instructs us to “Sing aloud!, Rejoice and exult with all your heart” and in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians he writes: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
It may seem paradoxical that this letter of St. Paul that speaks most about joy (in this short letter, there are 14 references to joy and rejoicing) was written in prison, at a moment when the apostle had no idea whether he would be freed or undergo martyrdom. Remarkably, it is in this difficult and complicated situation that Paul discovers the secret of Christian joy and shares it with us. He tells us that we are not to worry about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we are to let our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guide our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
You would not be alone if you were to surmise that this advice runs counter to most people’s assumptions about joy. For many people (perhaps the majority), joy or happiness seems to amount to a question of favorable circumstance. I am happy when I am surrounded by friends, when I have a desirable future before me, when I have a rewarding job, good health, and so on. But if this were the case, it would scarcely be possible for us to “rejoice always”—because circumstances would dictate our happiness. But this is not what Paul is saying. Circumstances, for Paul, do not dictate joy—joy, for Paul, is based on a relationship with God, which transcends all that the world can throw at us.
The theologian Karl Barth once called joy a “continual defiant ‘Nevertheless’.” It suggests that the kind of joy to which Paul is inviting us isn’t based on our circumstances, but something else—something far deeper and more hopeful than either our effort or the whims of the world can dictate.
Frederick Buechner, in his book Whistling in the Dark writes: “(Paul) does not deny that the worst things will happen finally to all of us, as indeed he must have had a strong suspicion they were soon to happen to him. He does not try to minimize them. He does not try to explain them away as God’s will or God’s judgment or God’s method of testing our spiritual fiber. He simply tells the Philippians that in spite of them—even in the thick of them—they are to keep in constant touch with the One who unimaginably transcends the worst things as he also unimaginably transcends the best.
(Buechner continues) Paul does not promise the Philippians (any more than ourselves) that as a result they will be delivered from the worst things any more than Jesus himself was delivered from them. What he promises them instead is that “the peace of God which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What Paul promises is what we discover in this season of Advent—Emmanuel “God with us”. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. He’s not saying that we should be grateful for anything that is against the will, mercy and justice of God. He’s saying that in the midst of these things, God will be with, through and within us. He is telling us that despite the reality of sorrow and evil in this world, that God is with us. And in the end—no matter what happens—good will triumph over evil, and joy will win the day.
So, where does this leave us in deciding which bus to catch? If both the atheist message and the pro-God message leave us enjoying life—and they do, what difference does it make for us as believers? Simply this: a life oriented toward God is a life oriented toward infinite goodness and joy—no matter what. No matter the circumstances in our lives or the world in which we live, peace and joy is promised us through the grace of God. Ultimately, it is this relationship, with a merciful, compassionate and loving God that gives perspective in the tumultuous world in which we live. A perspective of over-arching love that enables us to work to change the world in which we live, rejoicing even as we confront the powers and principalities which so often work against the will of God. A perspective that sees clearly the darkness of this world in which we live, yet even so, calls us to pursue the light of Christ and in so doing to find our hope our joy and our life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.