Complete Joy

    I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
    down in my heart; down in my heart
    I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
    down in my heart to stay.
    And I’m so happy; so very happy,
    I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
    And I’m so happy; so very happy.
    I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.

    Isn’t it so easy to sing and lie at the same time?  I mean, I remember singing that song when I was a kid, and we’ve sang it here in Sunday School.  If memory serves me right, we also sang it at one of our Wednesday evening worship services during Lent.  It’s a catchy tune with some other cool verses, but I wanted to focus on this verse in particular because I want to do a couple of things this morning in my sermon: 1) I want to make the case that everyone longs to have some sort of fullness of joy in their lives.  2) I want to attempt to show that nearly everything we try to find joy in will leave us unsatisfied.  3) I want to try and show how Jesus is the only one who can make our joy complete or fulfilled.

    First, I believe every human heart longs for joy.  In our day and age, we often call it happiness, however.  Whatever word you use, I will define joy in this manner: a state of well being and contentment.  Gerhard Kittel said this about joy in his Greek theological dictionary of the New Testament: Joy is not just inward.  It has a cause and finds expression.  It thus aims at sharing, especially as festal joy.  It is a disposition of the whole man.  This is the point when the heart is called its organ.  So, again, joy is a state of being that is caused by external circumstances.  This means the state of joy is brought about by how you and I engage something outside of ourselves.

    And here is the kicker: how many people do you know who have such joy?  How many people do you know who have such contentment?  How many people do you know who walk around–not with giant smiley faces all the time, but a sense that they are well–they are complete, and that nothing can get under their skin?  How many people do you know who exhibit such a thing?  My guess is, you, like me, know very, very few.  Heck, I can’t even look in the mirror and say that the guy looking back at me has this kind of joy in his life.  This is why I said, I could do a pretty good job of singing and lying at the same time.  Such joy tends to escape me–a lot, but I know that I am not alone.  It tends to escape a lot of people these days.  For every exaltation you hear, you hear ten times that many complaints.  For every good deed shown by the news media, you get a hundred deeds meant to frighten and scare us.  Seriousness dominates our society and our conversation.  People get in trouble for playing practical jokes.  It seems like many are walking around with a perpetual chip on their shoulder ready to take offense at the latest thing you say or do.  Would such things be happening if people were full of joy?

    And even in the church–yes, even in our congregations, do you see many of us walking around with a sense of contentment and well being?  Do you see many of us who have a deep sense of peace about us–who are absolutely joyful with their place in this world and with their particular status?  Oh, and here is the rub: do you see many Christians who try to strictly adhere to following the moral commandments exuding a sense of joy?  Do you see many Christians who are working diligently for peace and justice exuding a sense of joy?  Really, no.  In fact, usually even amongst us who follow Jesus and work to follow His commandments, we have little to no joy.  We may have fleeting moments, but we do not have that continued state of well being and fulfillment.  Why?

    This is one of those issues that make non-churched people scratch their heads in bewilderment.  We sing of joy in the church but then act like everyone else in society.  Since there is no visible difference between those who attend church and those who don’t, some wonder, “Why the point?”  What’s the point of attending church?  What’s the point of believing in Jesus?  I can do good things–bear fruit without giving up my time or my particular belief system.  Why should I change?

    Here is why, I think.  If you try to get your joy from anyone or anything less than Jesus, eventually you will be disappointed, and oftentimes you will become angry and your heart will harden.  How so?

    Well, let me go back to the previous two examples I used regarding church folks who try to diligently follow the moral commandments and work diligently for justice.  Essentially, both of these folks are doing the same thing.  Both are trying to follow the Law, and both types of people generally feel like everyone should follow the Law in the same manner they do.  Let that sink in a moment.  Both groups are striving to follow the Law, and both groups feel like everyone should follow the Law just like they do.  What is the problem and why doesn’t this bring joy? 

    The first reason it doesn’t bring joy is that these folks will eventually find out the impossibility of following the law completely.  These folks will find that the more they try to accomplish and fulfill the Law’s demands, the more they will find they fall short.  This brings, at first, a subtle sense of dissatisfaction and then a full blown realization of failure.  This does not bring joy.  The second reason joy is not found is when such folks realize they cannot get everyone to follow the Law as they think it should be followed.  Such folks will become contemptuous and even angry at others who will not live the way they think they should live.  While their own ego may be stroked with a sense of self-righteousness, they look down their noses at others who do things differently–when you are holding another person in such contempt, and when you believe the world’s problems would be solved if everyone just lived like you–and they don’t–you do not have joy.  Simply following the rules and the commands of religion will not bring joy.  Now, this goes for unchurched people as well.  You have the same problem we Christians do, but it gets disguised.  You too believe if everyone believed like you did and followed the rules the way you do, then the world would be fantastic.  You become just as contemptuous, but it’s awfully easy to see that in others than to see it in ourselves.  And it is the reason you don’t have the fullness of joy either.  Following the rules does not bring joy.

    Neither will loving a person or an object.  You may wish to argue with me here and say, “Well, I have been in love with my spouse for x number of years.  I am completely in love with him or her.  I am happy when I am with him/her, and when I think of him/her, I find a spark of joy within. This sounds all well and good, but you are not with your spouse or loved one all the time.  Second, there are times when you are not thinking about him/her and so joy leaves. Third, no relationship is perfect.  You have conflict, and my guess is, during your times of conflict, you are not too joyful.  Fourth, your loved one will die, and speaking from experience, I know more than a few widows or widowers who became very angry at their spouse for dying.  There was no joy.

    Same goes for trying to get joy from an object–like sports or money or possessions.  There is nothing like the thrill of victory, but sooner or later you will lose.  There is always the next game and the next time.  I never ends.  Joy is not complete.  There is always another dollar to earn. There is always another gadget to buy.  There is always another rung to climb on the corporate ladder.  Achievements will cause brief moments of joy, but they will not last. 

    Now, how is Jesus the exception?  Let’s hear His words again to us this morning: 9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you.

    At first glance this saying of Jesus looks very much like, “Follow my commandments, and you will have joy.”  It seems like we are right back to following the rules and regulations–i.e. the Law.  But that is not the case.  The starting point of this chapter is Jesus saying, “I am the vine and you are the branches.”  Toward the end of this teaching, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” 

    I get this image of Jesus, as a vine grabbing a branch and grafting it on Himself.  “You didn’t choose me, I chose you.  Now stay there.”  Why?  Why stay there?  Because you will find deep nourishment from Jesus.  You will find deep satisfaction from Jesus.  You will get a tremendous sense of well being from Jesus–that is not based upon your performance.  You see, all the world’s religions and everything we try to find our joy in say, “If you want the rewards, you have to work at it.  If you want to be joyful, you have to make it happen.  Your joy is dependent upon your performance.” 

    Christianity says, “No, your joy is found in what Jesus has done for you already.  Your joy is found at the foot of the cross.  Your joy is found with the God who took on human flesh and lived the life you should live; who died the death you deserved; who grafted you into the vine even before you asked.”  Now, you may freely leave that vine.  You may walk away from Jesus.  That is your prerogative, but why?  Why head out and try to find joy and satisfaction in all of those things that make you work for it and eventually leave you dissatisfied?  Why turn away from the one who says, “You are imperfect.  You cannot follow my commands.  You are broken, but I accept you.  I love you.  And I show my love for you in this: I lay down my life for you.”

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You see, Jesus can’t disappoint you.  He has already given you everything.  He has promised to never leave you.  He has suffered for you.  He promises to take the evil that befalls us and transform it into good.  There is every reason to stand fast and abide in Him–for as we do such a thing, we find true joy.  We find contentment.  We find a state of good will welling up within us.  Mind you, it’s tough to stay there.  All those other things keep clamoring for our attention.  All those other things lure us with the promises of joy, but there is a place where we can come to be reminded of Jesus.  There is a place where we can come to hear about His great love.  There is a place where we can come to hear what Jesus has done and be strengthened to reject the temptations of the world: we come to worship.  For at worship our hearts get tuned to Jesus.  Our hearts abide in Jesus.  Our hearts get transformed by Jesus.  And then we go out into the world full of peace and joy.  We engage the world and follow Jesus’ commands.  We work for justice.  We strive to be moral and upright.  We bear fruits worthy of repentance because we can’t help it.  We are rooted in the source.  We are rooted in Jesus–the source of all joy.

    Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you are the source of true joy.  You are where we truly find fulfillment and completeness.  When the world tempts us to find our joy in things that are not lasting, may we hear your Word.  May we be reminded of what you have done.  May we know that our joy comes not from our performance but yours.  May we see you at the cross dying for us and showing us tremendous love while we were still sinners.  And may this change our hearts that we may bear fruit.  Amen.

Why Abide in Jesus?

     Jesus says in our Gospel reading this morning “Abide in me as I abide in you,” and then He goes on further to give us the results of what will happen if we abide in Him.  This morning, I will attempt to do three things: 1) Answer the question of why we should abide in anything.  2) Show how abiding in anything other than Jesus will lead to disappointment and chaos.  3) Show why you should abide in Jesus above anything else.  It’s a rather large task before us, so let’s jump right in.

    The first thing we’ve got to deal with is why we should abide in anything.  Well, really we don’t have a choice but to abide in something.  The Greek word used by Jesus here is μένω which can mean several things: “abide”, “remain”, “to remain in a place”, “to stay in the house”, or even “to stay alive” or “to stand fast.”  And we all stand fast; we all remain; we all stay alive in something.  However, most of us don’t really take the time to think about where we abide; where we stand fast.  We are kind of like fish who are surrounded by water.  It is so natural for a fish to live in water, he wouldn’t know what it was like to live in anything else.

    So it is with how we live.  We simply go through most of our lives believing certain things we have been taught–things which are deeply imprinted within our hearts.  For instance, most of us, since we live in the U.S. have a deeply imprinted belief that if we work hard, do the right things, then we will achieve some measure of success.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that all people are equal and have certain inalienable rights.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that we are free to do as we choose as long as we do no harm to anyone.  These are so deeply ingrained that if we were taken out of our culture, we would indeed be like a fish out of water.  Many of us would have a very difficult time adjusting to anything else.  Why?  Because we abide in this particular worldview.  We stand fast in this particular worldview.  And even if there are those of you here this morning who question this particular worldview, you need to realize, you have a worldview of your own.  You have a way of looking at things that help you understand reality.  You have a way of looking at the world and dealing with all the information in the world that helps you cope with life and make sense of things.  We remain or abide in those worldviews most of our lives.  And it is very hard to change them.  Very hard.

    But sometimes we run into things that force us to deeply consider why we believe what we believe.  We run into things that force us to ask ourselves, “Is this where I want to continue to live?  Is this where I want to continue to abide?  Do I need to shift my thinking or change how I view the world?”  I have run into this more than a few times with folks throughout my career as a pastor.  Usually, these times occur when someone experiences deep sadness or loss.  If someone loses a job or a spouse or is faced with cancer, such questions usually arise.  I mean, if you have been taught that if you work hard and do good things, then you should be successful, then what happens if you lose your job or fall on hard times?  Were you not working hard enough?  Were you not good enough?  Do you see how this affects such a worldview?  I hope you can, because now we are getting into territory number two: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment or a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.  Let me say that again: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment and a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.

    Let me try and illustrate this by turning to recent events in Baltimore, MD.  Many of us have seen the images of rioters destroying property and burning buildings.  Many of us have seen the video of the mother slapping around her teenage son.  Many of us know the reason the riots have occurred is a reaction to what happened to Freddie Gray in the back of a police van and the accumulated distrust of a community toward law enforcement officials.  Pundits are pointing a lot of fingers and spreading a lot of blame, but let’s delve deep, very deep.

    Let’s begin with looking at those who blame the police for the violent uprising.  In a very real way, they hold the police officers in contempt because they believe the police have used their power and authority abusively.  This side believes they are continually victimized, and they justify the actions of the rioters by saying, “At some point all the anger and frustration boiled to the surface, and they lashed out at injustice.”  The folks are disappointed in a system which seemingly keeps them burdened and heavy laden without allowing them the freedom to escape poverty.  Many become hopeless, and I think it’s why these communities have a prevalence of drugs.  A lot of folks in these communities only live for their next fix.  Disappointment reigns as does contempt for those who they see as oppressing and abusing them.

    On the other hand, there are those who blame the rioters themselves.  There are those who believe if folks just followed the law and obeyed the rules, then they could improve themselves.  They tend to say, “These folks are just looking for an excuse to get something for nothing.  They are just waiting for an opportunity to do whatever they want, and they have no regard for the law; they have no respect for officers.”  The folks on this side of the street believe they are morally superior to those who are rioting, and they are disappointed with a system who will not crack down on such lawbreakers.  In reality, there is very little compassion being shown by this group, in my opinion.

    Now, I will say that this oversimplifies things a bit.  For we could nuance things very easily and say that there are more groups involved in this whole ordeal, but to keep time in mind, I will only deal with these two groups.  Can you see how the two worldviews lead to disappointment and contempt for others?  Can you see how the two sides are at great odds with each other?  Can you see how there is very little room for compromise or agreement on anything?  When worldviews like this clash, enmity and strife become the norm, and inevitably, worldviews will clash. 

    The question becomes: what is the solution?  Can there be any sort of resolution?  Can we just agree to disagree?  No.  I don’t think so.  The stakes are very high.  We need law and order.  We also need freedom.  We need to deal with those who break the law, but we also need to deal with the injustice of they systems which have kept people in poverty.  And more laws will not do it.  You see, people know they shouldn’t be breaking the law.  Cops know they shouldn’t abuse criminals–the vast majority don’t.  People know they shouldn’t riot–the vast majority don’t.  I mean, why do you think some cops try to destroy or appropriate cameras which catch them abusing others?  Why do you think many rioters covered their faces and hands and ran from cameras?  They know they are doing wrong!!!  We know we are doing wrong, even when our worldview tells us we are wrong, we still break the law!!! 

    I’ve outlined the problem, I think.  Hopefully, I was clear.  So, what is the solution?  Jesus says, “Abide in me.”  You may try and stop me here and say, “Well, why should I abide in Jesus. Aren’t there Christians who fall on both sides of those worldviews?  Aren’t they divided on those lines as well?”  Yes, Christians are divided on those lines as well, but if they are abiding in Jesus, they will not hold others in contempt, and they will not be filled with disappointment.  What do I mean by that?

    Well, I need to do a little bit of work here because we have to get to the heart of Christianity.  We need to see what distinguishes Christianity from all other worldviews–all other religions–all other philosophies.  Every other religion and every other philosophy will look at what is going on in Baltimore and say, “We’ve got to try harder.  We’ve got to follow the law better.  We’ve got to love our neighbors better.  We’ve got to work to overcome this division.  We’ve got to follow the tenets of our religion better.”  The emphasis is all on us.  We’ve got to do it!!  But as I pointed out earlier, we already know what to do.  Trying harder isn’t going to get us there.  It hasn’t throughout history.  It won’t now.  So what will?  Only a change of heart.  And how do hearts change?  How do hearts lose their contempt for others?  How do hearts turn from anger and hopelessness and disappointment to love and hope?

    Christianity says: Trust in what Jesus has already done for you, and to the extent you trust in Him–to the extent you abide in Him–to the extent you make your home in Him–to the extent you stand fast in Him–you will begin to love others.  You will begin to erase the contempt you once had for them.  You will no longer see yourself as superior to them.  You will not be disappointed, instead you will have tremendous hope which will give you abundant life.

    How is such a thing possible?  How does abiding in Jesus do this? 

    You have to realize what Jesus did for you.  You have to realize that when every other worldview says, “Try harder to be good, and then you will receive the rewards,” Jesus says, “There is no way you can achieve the standard that my Father and I set.  There is no way you can ever work hard enough.  There is no way you can be perfect.  You are and always will be a failure in this respect.  But I love you even if you are a failure.  I accept you even if you fall short.  I will never stop loving or accepting you.”

    “How can I trust you on this?”  You might ask Jesus?

    And His answer is the cross.  His answer is, “I died for you.”

            For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You see, when you believe that Jesus died for you when you were a sinner; when you believe you were accepted when you least deserved it, you are humbled.  You cast aside your haughtiness and your self-righteousness because you know you didn’t measure up; but you don’t grovel in victimhood and self-hatred because you know you are accepted.  You can neither be too high nor too low.  And your heart finds peace.  Your heart finds itself longing to love even those whom hurt you.  Your hearts finds itself full of hope that there can be a better way and that reconciliation is possible.  And you have proof of that with the resurrection.  Because Jesus lives, you will live also–not only for eternity, but you will live with a lasting, assuring hope.  Nothing can ever take that from you.  There is never then an need to escape the world and live for the moment–you are now abiding in the True Vine.  You are now getting your identity from Him.  You are now getting your sustenance from Him.  You now have an unending source of love and hope and compassion flowing through you.  A love that makes reconciliation possible–not because of anything you have done or how hard you have worked, but because of what Jesus has done for you and even for the one who opposes you.

    Let us pray.  Lord Jesus, you abide in us even without us asking.  You died for us when we least deserved it.  You accepted us when we were failures.  You rose to give us hope.  May we abide in you.  May we trust you.  May we find our identity in you that our divisions will cease; that we may be reconciled to one another; and that peace may reign.  In your name we pray.  Amen.