Wait. Maybe occasionally, but always? Maybe once and a while we get everything so correct with our prayer and thanksgiving, with our discernment and progress in holiness that we can rejoice.
But that isn't actually the order of Paul's instructions to the Philippians. Rejoicing is the starting point. He tells us to rejoice even before he tells us to pray. Joy, then, is meant to be among the deepest characteristics of the Christian life. We hear it first so we don't mistake it for something we earn. We don't mistake it for something we work up in ourselves. We don't mistake it for something which is dependent on the circumstances of life. It is only dependent on one thing. The love of Jesus for us is the source of our joy. All we have to do is remain in that love. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (cf. Joh. 15:11).
We are meant to be like John the Baptist who jumps for joy even in his mother's womb (cf. Luk. 1:44). He does not have this joy because his prayer life is just right or anything like that. He has it simply because of the proximity of Jesus.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
The gift freely given is enough to give us joy even amidst the changing circumstances of this world. It changes our hearts from ones which are quiet and timid to ones that can't help but cry out to prepare the way of the Lord, just as John does. The joy of Jesus makes his way straight in our hearts. His joy lifts us from our overly self-referential perspectives and frees us to love God and neighbor with abandon.
More reason to rejoice? Just as the Spirit fills John, Mary, and even Jesus himself he also wants to fills us.
he spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
The year of favor is here. We celebrate it with the coming of Jesus at Christmas. He comes into this world and connects us to eternity. He frees us from the ups and downs that most time-bound creatures experience. He looks with favor on the lowly who can't find our make their own joy. He does great things, not for the great, but for those who fear him.
Let us leap with John, let us rejoice with Mary, for our king comes. We prepare a way for him with the joy he himself gives. And our joy is made full when we receive him.
No comments:
Post a Comment