Sabbath Thoughts: The Practice of Joy

©Greg Ferrell

             
                "If you keep a green bough in your heart, a singing bird will come."

Bad news!

There is much to cause despair in the world around us, whether it is a result of some human tragedy, the decline in the culture of our modern times, or some other such dire cause.  Most of us live out our lives affected to one degree or another by fragmentation or pain, either ours or that of loved ones.

Living in the “real” world is tough.

How do we lift our hearts above the surrounding circumstances?  How do we find the cloudless night beyond the tempest, the calm beneath the turbulence of the sea? 

In Galatians 5, within a context that could easily describe much of what we face in modern life, we are offered the possibility of a different prospect— that we could bear in our lives the fruits of the Spirit in spite of anything going on around us.  The first two promised gifts are Love and Joy, but upon reflection we can see that whether or not we are able to experience those two is more often than not dependent on the presence or absence of the other seven, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Oh, but these remaining ones look more like disciplines to be practiced rather than wonderful gifts or fruits which are easily plucked from the tree.   And we know how hard it is to discipline ourselves. 

The poet Mary Oliver in the quote below describes the mixed bag of our situation.  But if you reflect a bit, somewhere in her words you will find a key.  

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate.  Give in to it.  There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.   We are not wise, and not very often kind.   And much can never be redeemed.   Still, life has some possibility left.  Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world.   It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins.   Anyway, that’s often the case.  Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty.  Joy is not made to be a crumb.” ~Mary Oliver

What tip is she offering us?  Where is the place to start?

Perhaps we begin by understanding that Joy is not “made to be a crumb,” not a mere emotion to transport us temporarily above our circumstances.  Joy too is a discipline to be practiced, and from that disciplined practice will arise a transcendence, a lifting of our hearts in spite of anything we might be going through.  And I believe that there is a profound reason that the first fruit listed is Love.  You don’t work your way through the other fruits of the Spirit to arrive at Love as the grand prize . . . no, you are able to bear the other fruits in your life because you begin with acts of Love.  Acting in love leads to Joy, whether anything else is going entirely right for you at the moment.  

And the “good news” is the promise is that the Joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10), the strength you will need to practice peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, all of which work together to change circumstances and offer hope.  

Let me remind you of a story you may know, one told by Mother Teresa who had taken food to a Hindu family that had not had anything to eat for days.  She had only a small amount of rice to give them, but she was surprised by what the mother did.  She divided the rice equally and took half to a Moslem family living next door.  When Mother Teresa asked her why, knowing that the mother wouldn’t have any left for her own family for the next day, the mother explained, “But they haven’t had any food for days either!”  An act of love on the part of Mother Teresa begat an act of love on the part of the Hindu mother . . . and can you imagine the Joy in the hearts of both that mother who gave and the Moslem mother who received?  And for a moment, they transcended suffering, through the giving and sharing of Love.  

“. . . Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.”  -Psalm 30:5

“Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.”   -Jeremiah 15:16

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