Sermon at First Presbyterian Church Lockhart
"Where Is Our Joy?"
by James Greene
Have you
ever noticed how some people just have a sense of Joy as part of their DNA
and their personality? The wife of one of my CLP classmates, is just such a person. We all wentout to a
restaurant after the Presbytery meeting in October. There was a mariachi band
there and she just really loved
the music. The energy, and sense of, just being in the moment, and enjoying the fellowship, had us all caught
up in the music and the joy of our gathering. It was fun from
the heart.
Much like
the reading from the Psalm 126 this
morning, we see the theme
in a song of joy. It is one of
the Psalms of ascent,
that was sung by worshipers, on the way up to the
Some people see the Verses 5-6 as asking God to give them a harvest for their work, that God
would supply only the equal
amount of effort they put into the sowing
and planting. It is a continuation of God bestowing “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning. It is the sowing in tears in planting that yields, a Joy that is ten-fold, in the realization of resurrection, which is God’s Will
for all people. It is where death has been conquered, and we are released from darkness. This is the Joy of Resurrection with the great in-gathering of God’s people. We see how this Psalm is a
reflection of, the same Hope and Joy, and anticipation seen in this Advent Season.
Do
you know that the Capitol City A&M Club in
Every year on April 21st,
at Aggie Muster, they announce and
introduce the recent local high school graduates who are the recipients of
scholarships. One year the key speaker
for Muster was Mr. Frank W. Cox III from
So, on Monday, they
gave him a paint brush and set a bucket of paint on the center line, and put
him to work. That day, he painted 5 miles of stripes on the fresh
asphalt.
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His boss was really impressed.
The next day he
painted 4 miles and that was Good, but by that
Friday he had only painted 1 mile. His boss came up to him, a little upset and said, “Aggie, you did such a good job on Monday painting those stripes, but today you only completed 1 mile.
What’s
wrong? Why are you slacking off? The Aggie said, “Well Mr. Supervisor, I’m
trying as hard as I can,
but it’s a long way back to that bucket.”
Mr. Cox’s message
was this: “you take the bucket with you”.
Everything that the young high school graduates had learned:
the values learned at home, from their extended families, in their church, in their school,
they needed to remember them and to
take it with them, when they went away to college. It was a part of their character and a part of their identity.
It is the same with us
here in this congregation. We need to remember that God’s gifts at Christmas are not just
to us, and for us. They are to be
shared. We, like the Aggie, need to remember that we are called to take the bucket with us. We are to share God’s gift
of Joy
with those around us, in the field
and in the work place.
God does have a sense of humor, and that humor is a result
of His Joy. We know that laughter sometimes is the by-product of Joy. For those of us who carry a few extra pounds
around after Thanksgiving, laughter is
also good exercise. I’ve been told it is like jogging, on the inside.
II True Joy
The
reading from Isaiah talks about drawing
water, with Joy, from
the wells of salvation. It is an image of singing while we work. How many times do we carry
a tune with us while
we’re working? How many times, is it a tune praising God’s blessings in our lives? Like the Psalm
of assent, it makes the work
easier, and it is really an act
of prayer, in our work. It is like the Aggie painting the stripes on the highway. We bring our
Joy
with us, in the workplace, in the
midst of where we live.
Remember,
when the Angels came to proclaim
the birth of Jesus, they did
not go to the people worshiping
in
It is an Amazing Joy,
- in really knowing that God cares
for us in
our lives, in the middle of our work relationships. (from Turning Point,
1993) “Where then is real Joy found? -- the answer
is simple, - in Christ alone.” It is not about what makes you ‘happy’, but what really gives you Joy.
What does this mean to us today, -individually? In our reading in Philippians we are called
to be Joyful in the Lord,- always.
The same as in the Psalm,
we are to be a walking hymn
of praise to God. It should be a part of our character and identity,
just like the young graduates going away
to college. It should
be with us always, and we
should always (like the bucket) take it with
us. Joy is also the by-product of
obedience.
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IV
So,
today we ask: “Where is our Joy?”
When we fulfill our purpose we share God’s
Love and we share God’s Joy.
It is not happiness, but a truly heart warming radiance that comes
from deep within, that brings
us to our feet singing.
It is a heart
felt thankfulness, that can not be put into words. Joy is a sense of ‘Home’. It is the feeling of being in the midst of
the church family; of being accepted as you are,-- where you are in your journey.
It is knowing that someone
loves you, and that will carry you through the coldest of days or seasons.
Joy
is knowing (in our heart of hearts) that our
God loves us, seeks us out and calls
us to him.
So, in this Season of Advent,- in your Joy, - share it freely. It is God’s gift to us as God’s People, that we cannot store up, or we cannot
bottle, or we cannot manufacture. We have to share it, because it is part
of us, and comes from the core
of our very being.
This Joy is God’s gift ….
From The Father, and The Son, and The Holy
Spirit. A-men
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Charge and Benediction
In an article written “Today In The Word”,
back in June, 1988 (p. 18)
A man
in around 200 AD, was anticipating
death, he penned these last words
to a friend: "It's a bad world,
an incredibly bad world. But
I have discovered in the midst of
it
a quiet and holy people
who have learned a great secret.
They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted,
but they care
not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome
the world.
These people are the Christians--and
I am one of them."
So, remember, Rejoice in the Lord always. I
say again,- Rejoice!!
"The grace of God, which passeth
all understanding, TBoCP
keep your
hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,
and
of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord:
And the blessing of God Almighty, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be amongst you and remain with you always."