Recognizing the Good
Sunday, December 13, 2020
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Dear Friends,
Joy. Joy is the word for this third Sunday in Advent. But it kind of feels like the wrong word for right now. In fact, every word throughout Advent feels like the wrong word for right now. Hope? Peace? Joy?
Friends, these are, indeed, the right words for us right now. These words aggressively push back despair, making an embarrassing scene out of everyone’s despondent gloomy expectations. Joy is not bright wrapping paper on rotten fruit. Joy is not shiny tinsel covering a dead tree. Joy is not a pasted smile to soldier through a Zoom meeting while you wither from within.
Now joy is also not happiness. I can’t imagine any of us are feeling happy at this current moment. No one is happy their loved one is battling COVID-19 alone in a hospital bed. No one is happy their Christmas plans and grounding traditions have been upended. Happiness comes from the Latin root “hap” where we get haphazard and happenstance. It means by chance or by luck. Happiness is what happens to you.
Joy doesn’t happen. We choose joy. Joy has nothing to do with circumstances and has everything to do with a state of mind. How does one choose joy, though?
The word, “joy”, comes from the Greek word “chara” used in words like Eucharist, meaning grace and gratitude.
It’s almost like the cure or antidote or medicine for the lonely, deep, dark holes and trials in life is thanksgiving. Because when we go through trials, however large or small that trial is, it is difficult to see the good. We often focus on what’s missing in our lives instead of focusing on what’s present—on Who’s present. And when we discover that God is present and never leaves us and never forsakes us, we find joy in gratitude.
Gratitude is the cure to fight every ailment this life may bring because, through gratitude, we discover God’s goodness in all things.
Start with prayer. Thank God for God’s nearness. Thank God for every person, every simple and big thing, your past and present and future. And ask God to change your perspective from regret to gratitude, from despair to joy.
The Jewish people have prayers of gratitude for every area of their life so they won’t forget that life is a gift from God, regardless of circumstances. They have a term for gratitude: Hakarat HaTov, which means recognizing the good.
In a world so focused on what we don’t have or how bad we do have it, recognizing the good becomes a discipline, refining us into the people of God—into people of joy.
Friends, may you rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks today and always regardless of circumstances.
With (love),
Bethany