Stretch, Smile, and Say It!
The recurring theme of today’s passage is joy. I believe, more than any other time, today’s message is
relevant and needs to be heard, for we need joy. I think some children in our
church would be joining today’s online service. So let me begin the message
with this question: Have you heard a three-fold technique – 3S’s – in getting
up? The first S stands for stretch. We
stretch. That gets the body going. Then, smile. That puts the soul
in the right attitude, so that we don’t start the day grumbling. And then say, “God loves me” because that sets
the spirit right. You are reminding
yourself of your identity in that way. And body, soul, and spirit, you are
starting the day right. Stretch, smile, and say, “God loves me.”[1]
Our heavenly Father loves us! That is the foundation of our joy. That is the
main theme of today’s scripture.
Joy and Sorrow
Some of us may say, “I’ve got
nothing to be joyful today.” I want to remind you that joy is not the same as
happiness. Happiness generally has to do with external things or events. If the
weather gets warm, if we get healthier, if the stock market gets better, we are
then happy. So it’s external, conditional.
But joy is deeply rooted in our personal relationship with God who loves us and
is with us always. It’s internal,
unshakable. Henri Nouwen right said in this way:[2]
Joy is not the same as happiness. We
can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God’s
love for us. We are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be
glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together.
In today’s passage Jesus’ disciples
were filled with sorrow, because the time had come for their teacher to return
to the Father. For them, there was no room for joy in such a time as this. For
them, where there is Jesus’ presence, there is joy. And now, since Jesus was
leaving, their joy was also fading away. It’s understandable that they were
grieving over the loss of their loved one. But what they didn’t know is that Jesus’
presence is not something that comes
and goes. In verse 21 Jesus compares what is about to happen to him and to his
disciples with a woman in childbirth. For nine months, the baby has been so
close, so secure, so comfortable to the mother. The baby gave the mother such a
joy. But then, her hour has come. The baby has to be cast out in a painful
birth. “In a little while” there is pain and sorrow and loss. But the baby is
not going anywhere. The baby is not lost, but now the baby is present in a way
that can interact with the mother in a wonderfully intimate way.
Living in the Presence of God
Jesus said, “In a little while you will not see me” (v. 16). All of us have
those moments – “in a little while.” There are the times when God feels
distant, when we can’t just feel God’s presence. Perhaps some of us are going
through the darkest valley right now, filled with anxiety and uncertainty and
sorrow. The truth is, at some point all of us are going to go through those
valleys. In today’s scripture the disciples were going through those valleys.
Jesus said to them, and Jesus says to us today, “So you have pain now; but I
will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy from
you” (v. 22).
Yes, sorrow and grief are real when
we see our loved one suffer and pass away. Anxiety and worry are real when we hear
bad news from doctors about our health. Fear and uncertainty are real when the
death and economic damage sweep across the country. Today Jesus says to you and
me, “So you have pain now. But trust me. Wait for me. Surely I will come to
you. And your heart will be filled with greater joy.” Last Friday we had a
rainy, cloudy day. We didn’t see the sun that day. But we know there is a sun,
even though the skies are coved with clouds. God’s presence is like the sun. No
matter how thick the clouds of sorrow are, God’s presence is always there. And
where there is God’s presence, there is joy. “In your presence there is
fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore!” (Ps 16:11)
Joy Restored
The Lord is near. Joy is near. But
that doesn’t mean that joy simply happens to us. We have to choose joy and keep
choosing it every day. What does it mean by that? Choosing joy means to trust
deeply that God is truly with us, loves us, and cares for us each day. Choosing
joy means to keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky. When
we keep choosing joy every day, we can let go of our anxious thoughts about
tomorrow and pay attention to glimpses of the sun shining through the clouds
and rejoice even in the midst of sorrow or pain.
Recently, I was caught off guard by
sorrow. Two beloved church families have left the church in a row mainly
because of the stance of the UMC. It just happened out of the blue. I was
surprised by sorrow. When I heard that news, I felt like my heart was being
ripped out. I became paralyzed by this sadness. I didn’t know what to do. So I
prayed. I poured out my heart, my sorrow, my complaints, to God. I wept. But
then, God reminded me of the story of five loaves and two fish. In that story the
disciples were discouraged by their inability to fill the great needs. But
Jesus said to them, “You give them something
to eat.” So they found a boy who has five loaves and two fish. And Jesus fed
the five thousand. Then, I heard the inner voice saying to me, “It doesn’t
matter how many loaves you have. Suppose you need 100 loaves. But if you have
five, I will provide you with 95. If you have only one, I will provide you with
99. Trust me. This is my church. I will build my church.” That lifted my
burden off and gave me tremendous freedom. And I was able to rejoice in sorrow.
Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus
Choosing joy means fixing our eyes on Jesus, the true
source of our joy. The Bible says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” On
our behalf Jesus carried human suffering and pain. On our behalf Jesus endured
abandonment from God on the cross, saying, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” On our behalf Jesus endured such hostility by sinners against
himself, that he might bring many children to glory. Because of what Jesus has
done for us, we are forgiven, accepted, beloved. All we need to do is to trust
Jesus and fix our eyes on him.
How can we keep our eyes fixed on
Jesus, that we may have joy? The answer is by
prayer. In today’s passage, Jesus tells his disciples about how their joy
may be complete by prayer. Jesus says, “Very truly, I tell you, if you ask
anything of the Father in my name, he
will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so
that your joy may be complete” (vv. 23b-24). The purpose of prayer is not to
get answers from God. The purpose of prayer is to get in tune with God. Nowadays, I practice midday prayer. While giving
away school lunch in the church parking lot, I do my prayer walk, praying for each
church family member. As I was praying, I realized how much I was out of tune
with God. As we pray, we begin to be closer drawn to God. As we pray, we begin
to see our will be lost in God’s will. As we pray, we begin to see the signs of
God’s love around us and be joyful.
As I close, I commend us to pray – set a time, set a place, and
actually pray daily. Without prayer, we will be surprised by human suffering
and pain around us. But when we pray, we will be surprised by joy, because we
see the spiritual reality that God loves us and has the last word. When we
pray, we will come to believe the words of encouragement from Jesus, “In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (v.
33b) So friends, let us pray. And our joy will be complete. Amen.
[1] R. Kent Hughes, John:
That You May Believe (Preaching the Word) (p. 388). Crossway. Kindle
Edition.
[2]
Henri J. M. Nouwen, Here and Now: Living
in the Spirit (p. 28). The Crossroad Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
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