“Joy in Community” (1 John 1:1-4; John 1:14-16) A Message for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost – July 13, 2014 Pastor Tim Christensen Gold Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) – Butte, MT Yesterday afternoon I stood on the side of the Original Stage – what we usually call the Original Mineyard, only this weekend it is once again a stage – and I watched a very elderly gentleman who was listening to the music. I’d seen him off to the left side earlier in the day as I’d been introducing a different band; he was wearing overalls, he had a long white beard, and in many ways he looked like he could just as easily have stepped out of Butte’s past. But as I watched him, he got up and began to move closer to the front of the stage. He was polite, not pushing or shoving, and he slowly wound his way through the dancing crowd to the very front (what we call the rail), and there he stood, leaning on the barrier, with a smile on his face that seemed to me to be mile-high and mile-deep. It was such a beautiful thing to see that I just stood there by the monitor board and watched him. Meanwhile, The Travelin’ McCourys – a band I love! – was playing on the stage, but all I could do was watch that elderly gentleman as he smiled. And then he started to dance – nothing fancy or sophisticated, just his own little shuffle – and in that moment I knew I was witnessing true joy. So I’m curious: What brings you joy? Is it a child’s smile? A call from a friend? A visitor who brings new life into your world? A good pork chop sandwich? Great music? Tell me, because I really want to know. And if Joy is too big or scary a word, then what makes you truly happy? [Prompt some replies here…] I ask that question because in the First Letter of John, which we’ll be reading from for the next few weeks, joy is the first matter of business. It is that kind of joy that John writes about in his First Letter (1:1-4). He doesn’t begin with a greeting or a salutation; instead he just goes to his point, which is that he had been a witness to all he was sharing, and he was sharing it because he wanted his joy – and his community’s joy – to be shared with everyone. John knew that sharing joy in community could resolve every difference, heal every heart, deal with every difficult situation, and offer a better way to live. And he’s pretty clear in saying that: “Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy.” Now if that just sounds a little too much like a certain Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” then you need to realize that John was a very old man when he wrote this letter. As a young man he had traveled with Jesus, referring to himself in the Gospel of John as “the beloved disciple,” implying in some gentle way that he had a particular closeness with Jesus. But now John is old. The Roman Empire is bigger and badder than ever. Communities are under threat. Christianity isn’t even a real church yet, just gatherings of people in various communities, worshiping in each other’s homes, and calling themselves The Way. None of the trappings of power, wealth, authority, and abuse that we often find in the church today. Christianity was at its roots, but those roots were under threat from those who wanted to root them out and throw these Christians on the trash heap of history. And does John call for a fight? Does he try to wield political authority? Does he try to gather an elite force to undermine or take out the ruling authorities? Does he try to speak as someone who has more power because he’d been with Jesus? No… not at all. Instead he goes around his own community and writes to other small Christian gatherings, reminding them that the best form of resistance is Love. “Little children, love one another.” That’s what John is most famous for saying, and early Christian witnesses remark that he said it so often that people started thinking he was getting a little soft in the head. “Little children, love one other,” when they were being persecuted for their beliefs? “Little children, love one another,” when at any moment the ruling authorities could snuff them out with an iron boot? “Little children, love one another” when it seemed like all kinds of suffering and fear were ruling the day? And John must have just smiled that gentle smile of his, and from the age-old wisdom of his position as one who had walked with Jesus, learned from Jesus, and even been given a new mother by Jesus… John just smiled and said for the umpteenth time, “Little children, love one another.” Because if there’s one thing that Christians are called to believe, it is NOT that we somehow have a greater moral authority, or a greater political clout, or a position from which we can properly judge others. If there’s one thing that Christians are called to believe, it is that love conquers all… that Christ’s willing death on the cross is for us not only our salvation but our way of life. We’re called to give ourselves away in love. We’re called to love others as we love ourselves. We’re called to love even our enemies – those we don’t like! And we’re called to live this Love as a way of life because of the one we follow; because he lived that life; because we are witnesses – not first-hand, admittedly – but we are witnesses to a story that has changed everything for us. Because the Word of God became flesh and blood, and moved into our neighborhood. Because we have witnessed that story, and in that way we have seen with our own eyes the one-of-a-kind glory of that way of life, Father & Son complete, holy, beautiful, giving, generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (paraphrase of John 1:14) It is this way of living that brings not just fake happy-smiley moments, but true joy. This weekend our community is doing its very best to show what that kind of joy looks like. To me it looked like a very elderly gentleman listening to The Travelin’ McCourys play bluegrass music; a man who had probably gotten up and put on his overalls, combed out his white fluffy beard, and made his way to The Original because he was hungry for some joy. And I felt privileged to be a witness to that joy, and I can tell you that I found it irresistible. And I have a feeling you’re as hungry for that joy as I am. So we gather – not many people, not powerful, not influential – but we gather as we are, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, sharing one another’s joys and sorrows, one another’s griefs and celebrations, and old man John speaks to us from long ago, saying the same thing he said as he wandered around the streets of his own community: “Little children, love one another.” And when he wrote his letter to the community around him – the community that had come to know Jesus through John, through his stories, through his ministry, through his life – John said, “Our motive in writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too! Your joy will double our joy.” God knows we need Joy in our lives. Will you join me in prayer? Holy God, you know better than we do how much we need Joy in our lives – and not some fake substitute, but the real thing which comes from you alone. Make us people of Joy. Teach us what it means to not only experience Joy, but to share Joy with others. Help us to find Joy even in the midst of our struggles and hurts, and show us the Joy that lives even in the midst of suffering by reminding us of the gift of new life that we have received in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 18:54:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015