Living Your Way into Joy

Living into Joy

The Rev. Dr. Matthew Kozlowski

I want to talk to you today about joy.

Last week in church we sang Joy to the World. And we’ll sing it again on Christmas Eve.

Why is Joy so hard to find? What is Joy? You know it when you see it, right?

How do you get more of it?

Two major mistakes that we make when thinking about joy.

One, thinking of joy primarily as a feeling. Or an emotion. Or even, this is very clever, people will say “Well, joy is more like a state of being.” Preachers often say that. I think I’ve said that as a preacher. Yeah, it’s very clever, but I don’t think anyone has left church thinking, “Oh, yeah, I just need to see joy as a state of being. That really helps.”

Here’s what is helpful. Joy is not a feeling. It’s a virtue. In other words, joy is not something that you feel your way into, joy is something that you live your way into.

Technically speaking, A virtue is a disposition toward right action. You don’t feel a virtue; you practice a virtue. You develop a virtue. Honesty is a good example. You don’t feel honest. You are honest; or you’re not – depending on whether you tell the truth. And if you consistently tell the truth, you become an honest person – a person who has the virtue of honesty.

So if you are wanting more joy in your life, the first thing you can do is stop trying to feel you way into it. Instead, think about practicing your way into joy. Living your way into joy. Cultivating it. Like a garden.

Ok, second mistake, thinking that you must manufacture joy inside of yourself. “Oof, I need more joy in my life, let me just close my eyes, grit my teeth, and make some joy.”

As Christians, the Bible gives a different way.

Nehemiah 8. 10 “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

We can experience joy inside of ourselves, but the source of joy comes from outside of ourselves.

Personal story. I talked to a nutritionist one time, and she said that it would be beneficial to have more vitamin D in my system. Now imagine if she had said, “So, what you need to do is go into your kitchen, close your eyes, and concentrate really hard on making vitamin D. You know, focus right there on your abdomen.” No. She said, if you want more vitamin D, you’ve got three choices. You can take a little capsule; you can eat certain foods; or you can go out and stand in the sun. What’s the point? In all three cases, I would be accepting help from outside of myself to get what I need.

I’ve been thinking so much about John the Baptist this Advent. Which is not surprising because I love thinking about John the Baptist. Especially in Advent.

Joy is probably not the first word that comes to mind when you think about John. But there are at least two places in the Bible where John is directly connected with joy. Spoiler alert: they both involve Jesus.

Luke 1. Mary is pregnant with Jesus, and she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John. This is actually the first time that Jesus and John meet. What does it say?

“ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

In another place, this time in the Gospel of John, Chapter 3, John talks about his friendship with Jesus. He says:

“I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend (that’s John) who attends the bridegroom (that’s Jesus) waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”

What’s the takeaway? John the Baptist is joy-ful – John the Baptist lives into Joy – whenever he is close to Jesus.

I have a book that I read every morning called Jesus Calling. I know many of you have this book too, because every time I mention it, somebody says, “I have that book too!” Well it may not look impressive, but the person who wrote it, Sarah Young is a spiritual genius. It’s written in the first person, as if Jesus is talking directly to you. Here’s what it says about Joy. This was December 6th.

“What I search for in my children is an awakened soul that thrills to the Joy of My Presence! I created humankind to glorify Me and enjoy Me forever. I provide the Joy; your part is to glorify Me by living close to Me.”

What’s the takeaway? If you want more joy in your life, try to get as close to Jesus as possible.

The last candle of the Advent wreath stands for Love. That’s really good. Because it works this way: You can live into joy, because Jesus has lived into love. And died in love. And rose in love. And he’s coming back.

We’re starting the Alpha course in January. Tuesday nights. It’s a powerful series on the Christian faith. If you’ve never done Alpha before, please come, and bring a friend. If you have done Alpha before, please come, and bring a friend. I hope you come. Bring that friend who’s not sure about Jesus; who’s not sure about church; who’s not sure about religion. Invite them. Because here’s the message of the Alpha Course. God. Loves. You.

Do you know?... When people hear that – it changes them. Their faces change… Their bodies change…

There is a group of Good Sam women right now who are doing Alpha as Chester County Prison. They go, every week, into a place that is often devoid of joy and love. And They get to tell those women in prison, “God. Loves. You.”

Why does God love you? He loves you because he loves you.

How do you know God loves you?

You know because Jesus climbed a hill outside Jerusalem.

He carried a very different kind of love letter. It was a wooden cross.

He wrote with a very different kind of ink. It was his own blood.

And he closed the letter with a very different kind seal. His death, resurrection, and a promise: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

God. Loves. You. Jesus proved it.

And there’s the Joy. It’s comes from Jesus.

Joy to the World, the Lord has come.

John 15. 11. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Thanks be to God. Amen.