Pentecost 7                                            Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18                                         6/29/08
                                                               What’s Your J.Q.?


I have wonderful, though perhaps, hard to believe, news for you.  Each of us -
every single human being - was created for joy? 

Our creation and birth was an experience of great joy for God.  We read in Genesis
that after God created humans, He proclaimed that His creation was good. 
All of God’s other acts of creation received an “It was good,”, but humans were
the pinnacle of God’s creation and brought Him great joy, so He says, “And it was very good”.

Likewise, as we read in the parable of the lost sheep, the return of a sinner brings
God great joy.  This joy comes whenever a child is brought for baptism and
whenever a believer confesses his/her sins and seeks the assurance of forgiveness
in Holy Communion.  We can only wonder at the experience of God’s joy coming
moment to moment through these acts.

But, God didn’t just create us for His joy.  He created us to experience joy, live in
joy and share joy.  And from this joy comes our praise.

Some people confuse joy and happiness, but they are not the same thing.  Happiness is situational.  It is dependent on what is happening in our lives.  Thus, it comes and goes with the up’s and down’s of our lives.

Joy, on the other hand, is a spiritual condition.  It is a state of being.  It is the resolute knowledge that regardless of what happens situationally, we are loved, accepted, cared for and have purpose.  Our lives have meaning, and that brings us joy, regardless of events.  In joy, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” 

As the apostles and martyrs proved a person can have joy even in the midst of suffering, even as death approaches.  And this joy is available to each of us in good times and bad, when we are in the bloom of health or buried in pain, if we are surrounded by family and friends or by enemies.

This is what forms the basis for David’s psalm of praise to God.  David’s life had not been full of ease and good times.  His selection by God to be the next king of Israel ultimately resulted in his being persecuted by the current king. 

While he enjoyed much success as a warrior and king, David’s personal life was a failure.  He gave into lust which brought punishment from God.  He suffered the rebellion and attempt by his son to take the kingdom by force, and endured the grief of that son’s death.

Yet, David wrote this great song of praise, “I will sing of the Lord’s love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.”   By the grace of God, no matter what else happened in David’s life, he was secure in his relationship with God.

The source of David’s joy was the knowledge that God would keep His covenant with Him and with the people of Israel.  And this is not just a promise God made to protect David from being dethroned or assassinated.  David’s joy was connected to God’s promise to be with His people and save them - even from themselves.

So, David sings, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.”  As God’s people live in this relationship of grace and joy with their God, they will experience blessedness. 

Within this relationship they feel the joy that leads them to praise God.  And notice that this is indeed a state of being, since David says, “They rejoice in your name all day long...” 

Surely, neither David nor the people of Israel escaped the difficulties of life.  They had financial losses, illnesses, family troubles and all the other negative experiences people suffer.  Yet, deep inside is a core of joy that buoys them even in their darkest moments.

Thankfully, that covenant, that promise of an ongoing, loving relationship with God was not limited to David and the ancestors.  That covenant was carried forward and ensured by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It was also expanded to include gentiles, which means you and me.

That wondrous gift of God’s grace became the source of joy for all who believe in Jesus.  Through our baptism into Christ we have the assurance of forgiveness and salvation - an eternity in God’s loving presence.

This gives us reason to experience that same joy that David displayed in his psalm.  Thus, no matter what is happening in our lives we too can sing God’s praise from a heart filled with joy.

This is extremely counter-cultural.  Forces within our society work overtime trying to convince us that we must be happy and that happiness is not only a constitutional right, it is a measure of our value as people.  Furthermore, that happiness is determined by what kind of car we drive, where we live, how successful we are, how many possessions we own, what other people think of us, even whether we have dazzling white teeth and six-pack abs.

If we give into those cultural forces, we will never know happiness because we will never have enough or be good enough.  This will then impact our J.Q. or “Joy Quotient”.  Our “Joy Quotient” is a measure of the joy we experience minute to minute, day to day.  It is a measure of how connected to God and His promises we are.  It is a measure of how sincere  our praise to God will be.

I don’t have a mathematical formula for you to use in measuring your J.Q. and there isn’t any scientific test you need to take to determine it.  Rather, you judge your own J.Q. by simply taking a moment during your day or at its end to review your day.  Reflect on how many times you experienced joy in your day.  Consider also whether a psalm of praise welled up inside you during the day.

If your moments of joy were frequent and deep, you have a high J.Q.  If you have few moments of joy, you have work to do.  This is not the work of our culture, desperately grasping for happiness in things.  This is the work of opening to the  reasons for joy all around you, and to the reminders that you are a beloved child of God.

Develop a practice to taking joy breaks.  Take that “moment for reflection” after the sermon to experience the joy of having a church in which to worship, a nation in which you are free to worship and a relationship with God that gives you cause for worship.

As you drive home, as you take time for your Sunday dinner, as you go about the activities of your weekend, notice the many ways God has blessed you: your family members (each individual), food on your table and a comfortable home in which to eat it, your physical ability to engage in purposeful activity. 

Then, don’t allow the busyness of your work week to close off your awareness.  Make a conscious effort to enjoy the beauty all around you as you go to and from work, see the gift of having work to do and a paycheck for doing it, even if some difficulty or pain intrudes seek the joy in the knowledge that you can deal with it and that you are not alone in doing so.

And this brings us to the greatest source of joy of all.  Let the joy of knowing you are beloved of God and accepted by Him no matter what, that you have ultimate victory in Christ, that you have the Spirit guiding and comforting you just bubble up into a great psalm of joy-filled praise. 

What’s your “J.Q.”?  Do as I’ve suggested and I predict it will be at a high level in no time.  Furthermore, I predict you won’t need to seek happiness anymore.   Now, have a truly joyful day.   Amen.