Again I will Say...

 

Again I Will Say…

 

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice, the Lord is near 

 

4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

 

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

 

4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

One thing I have learned in life is that there is a difference between “being happy” and having JOY, or “rejoicing.” The Apostle Paul, who is credited with writing these verses, had little to be happy about. Thanks to an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, his life had been turned upside down. The scholar Paul, whom the Bible says was taught by Gamaliel, an acclaimed Rabbi and teacher, “had it made” in the Jewish community of his day. He was already a great Jewish leader, and had been assigned the task of “purifying” the Jewish faith of upstart Christians. In the lingo of our day, Paul was an Ivy League graduate who had a job for life, and the high esteem granted his position. Jesus gets ahold of him and turns him into the “apostle to the Gentiles,” something the Jewish Pharisee Paul would have found abhorrent, were it not for his dramatic conversion. History suggests that his blinding encounter on the road may have left him with a vision impairment, which meant he was at the mercy of others to travel, and travel much he was called to do. I have a clergy colleague who has lived his life with serious vision impairment, and who is not able to drive. He has to use an electronic device to enlarge print even to read. And yet, he has served in a wide variety of important positions within our denomination, was a District Superintendent, and served as Assistant to the Bishop. He also started a number of innovative ministries in Western Pennsylvania, has been deeply committed to dismantling racism in our Annual Conference, and came within a few votes of being elected a bishop of the church, himself. Every time I read of the exploits of the Apostle Paul, I think about Rev. William Meekins, Jr., who has been an inspiration to me for many years. I tell William’s story, though, to say that William has had a number of close friends and colleagues who made it part of their ministry to transport William around to serve God. While William’s own spouse, Jennette, has been his primary chauffer when he was named a D.S., and other times, these clergy friends would take William to countless Conference and general church meetings and events. I know that each of them developed a strong bond with him, and became life-long friends. This is exactly the experience the Apostle Paul had, growing close to his own traveling companions who made his journeys possible. Both men could have used their vision disability as an excuse to do less, but in each case, they found ways to strengthen their ministries through the parties who came to their aid.

 

Still, Paul had little to be “happy” about. If you read his whole resume from the Bible accounts of his experiences, several times he details how often he was beaten, stoned, and even thrown in the garbage heap outside of town and left for dead. Once, he was even bitten by a poisonous viper while making a fire on the beach after surviving a shipwreck! It would appear he had few “happy” moments, which are typically based on immediate circumstances and fleeting feelings of euphoria. Instead, what Paul experienced most often was JOY. 

 

Joy is a “big picture” emotion. In fact, it may not even be limited to BEING an emotion! One experiences joy by taking stock of the opportunities life has brought along, being motivated by them, and having a measure of pride in what has been accomplished. I’ve been battling a really lousy cold this past 10 days, or so, and really “felt” terrible. I could not account for a single “happy” moment during this time. However, when I didn’t feel like doing anything else, I would intentionally take stock of my family, my marriage, my life as a called pastor, and the joy all of this has brought me. In a brief conversation, I also got to “relive” some of my time in seminary, which was an exceptionally joyous experience for me. It drives Dara crazy, but at this point in life, I find I just like to sit and watch her. She thinks I’m just taking in her beauty, which has always captivated me, but I’m doing far more than that. I’m using her presence as a mnemonic device to recall the incredible experiences our 47-pluse years together have brought to me. I can’t help but smile with great joy—Paul uses the word “rejoicing”—at the thoughts of our two children, and what they have become as adults, the towns we have lived in and enjoyed, and the incredible people we have had the privilege to know in each of our churches. We’ve taken lots of trips together, several to Europe, one to South America, and visited our kids in Alaska and Hawaii. I think of the nights when we just sit with each other and read, or watch a football game together. Most of all, though, I think of our shared Christian faith, and the depth and breadth of Dara’s experience of it, which has both inspired and challenged my own. My soul truly rejoices. I GET IT when Paul says, “REJOICE…and AGAIN I say REJOICE!” It’s not enough to rejoice only once. And this kind of joy is not confined by our most immediate sufferings. Not at all.

 

Paul says that in Romans 8:18: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Paul’s joy—and I believe OUR joy—is neither limited to looking back, but has a “drive” setting! What is ahead is even more joyous and glorious! I feel that way about my relationships with my wife, my family, my calling, and my faith in Christ. I hope you can get caught up in this kind of optimistic joy, too, if you haven’t already! The BEST is yet to come! There are many who are discouraged by the results of this most recent national election, and I easily could have been one of them. However, I believe that we are called to continue our diligence over our leaders actions, responding to protect the rights and privileges of the “least of these,” and to work in all ways and in all times to make sure they get their most basic needs met. The incoming administration with its “America First” philosophy should be challenged to do all it can to end homeless (especially homeless veterans), assure the domestic tranquility and inalienable rights of all, and do what is necessary for ALL Americans to have a shot at the pursuit of happiness. If these things are not addressed for ALL Americans, then “America First” becomes just an empty campaign slogan. Economic justice, racial justice, the availability of affordable healthcare and a decent education—these all certainly fit under an “America First” banner, don’t they? We who believe in these things, if not motivated by our Christian faith, then held accountable by our own Constitution, must be vigilant, encouraging, and be driven by our joy that we DO have a free nation, and not by our disappointment that our person didn’t win the election. And for those whose candidate DID win, don’t hide behind your victory, as your folk have much work to do with us to meet the “America First” agenda! Will we be a nation of REJOICERS, or a nation of sad-sacks and gloaters? 

 

Likewise, the United Methodist Church is reorganizing after the devastating disaffiliation process. We can sit around and wring our hands, filled with cries of “woe is me,” or we can get to work, the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks to the “present suffering” of Jesus, we are now in the position built with the JOY and REJOICING of redemption and reconciliation. The last thing the church needs are sad-sacks and gloaters. It doesn’t matter who’s “right” or “wrong,” what matters most is who is willing to pick up the mantle of servanthood, and find new and creative ways to love our neighbors as ourselves. People are hurting out there. The church should be a balm of healing and a house of encouragement, not a collection of mourners and moaners over how “resource poor” we are. After all, Paul would work hard to raise enough money to engage in his missionary journeys, and you never read of him complaining about not being able to do what God had called him to do because the offerings weren’t “full” enough. 

 

In the midst of an era of violence and conquering, Paul encourages the Christians of Philippi to be GENTLE people, which he saw as a tremendous witness. He also urged them to be a “non-anxious” presence in the world, for there was certainly enough crippling anxiety to go around in Greco-Roman society. Then he does this fantastic thing with PEACE. Only Paul can turn a phrase like “peace that passes understanding.” When I was much younger, I naively thought that Paul was referring to a peace that was so strong and obvious that it was almost impossible to comprehend. Older and wiser, now, I see that Paul’s “peace that passes understanding” is the peace of God that supernaturally comes upon us in the midst of circumstances that would NEVER bring such peace. When we are grieving the loss of a loved on, fighting a terrible illness or handicapping condition, facing economic hardship, or battling an addiction, THIS peace can show up, and it makes absolutely no SENSE. It is a peace that boggles the mind. While it is truly a supernatural gift from God, it may be borne by believers—kind, non-anxious, and gentle ones. Encouraging ones. Praying ones. This is what Paul is telling the church at Philippi. We need to hear this, too.

 

With all of the challenges he—and they—faced, Paul REJOICES and then REJOICES AGAIN! This is a word for us, today, too. We as AMERICANS face challenges. We as GLOBAL CITIZENS face challenges. We as individuals and FAMILIES face challenges. And certainly, we as the church of Jesus Christ face challenges. May we begin by rejoicing…and AGAIN I say rejoice. It bears repeating, doesn’t it? Amen.