Is the apostle Paul serious?   Rejoice always? Someone who is always rejoicing would seem to live in a fantasy land, not the troubled world we are familiar with.  Or perhaps “Rejoice always”  is one of those spiritual exaggerations one has to make allowances for in the Bible. 

 Paul’s letter to the Philippians is punctuated with a number of references to joy. Paul says that whenever he prays for the Philippians he prays “with joy” because of the partnership they share in the gospel. And Paul calls the Christians in Philippi his “joy” and his “crown.” Just knowing that there is congregation that perseveres in faith gives Paul joy.

These reference to joy are remarkable given that Paul writes the letter from prison and he knows that he might not get out alive. And he’s writing to people who themselves are facing persecution. The   situation would not seem to lend itself to expressions of joy

Whatever this joy is that Paul is talking about, he is hardly living in a fantasyland. Paul seems to know of a joy that exists even in the midst of harsh realities.

For Paul, it’s a joy that comes being part of the body of Christ, and a part of what God is doing in the world. It’s a joy that comes from trusting that God is for us, and not against us, that God is with in death and in life.

In the English language we tend to make a distinction between happiness and joy. Happiness has to do with feelings of pleasure and contentment.

Going to a favorite restaurant, or taking a vacation to France, can make us happy. Those things do not necessarily make us joyful.

To some extent we can achieve happiness. We can figure out what makes us happy and go for it.  Not that we humans are always wise about seeking happiness. Sometimes the things we pursue and think they will make us happy, turn out be empty. And if happiness is the only thing we pursue, or if we pursue it for its own sake, we often find out that the result tastes bitter. Still, we can work toward a measure of happiness.

But joy— joy is in a different category. Joy is not something we can manufacture or even find by our own effort. Joy comes as a gift, when suddenly we are grasped by the beauty and goodness of the world. “You cannot make yourself joyful,” said a great theologian; “something unexpected must happen."

And the curious thing about joy is that, unlike happiness, joy does not vanish when we encounter sorrows or problems; joy has a deeper purchase on our lives.

That’s the kind of joy Paul is talking about. I imagine that Paul did not always feel happy. But he lived out of a deep joy in God that stayed with him. And he strove to keep faith with that joy.

A friend of mine was diagnosed as a young adult with a rare form of cancer. He spent many days in the hospital when his two kids were little. He remembers that when his kids visited him in the hospital they found his hospital room extremely interesting. To them it was like a special hotel room, with all kinds of gadgets, and curtains, and a table that moved on wheels. They loved exploring the room. My friend commented that having children around is not always pleasant, but it is almost always joyful. It was miserable to be in hospital, but he still felt joy in the children’s presence, and joy in their sheer existence. 

That difference between happiness and joy: I’ve seen people work hard to make a wedding day a day of happiness for everyone involved. They choose a wonderful venue, and arrange for  abundant food and drink. They want to make it a joyful day. But you can’t manufacture joy. If you show up at the wedding and you aren’t grasped by a powerful sense of the goodness of God, if you don’t have the sense that  something unexpected has happened, then it’s not going to be that joyful.

In the Gospel lesson today Jesus uses the image of a wedding to describe the joining of God and God’s people. This wedding comes as a gift—it’s a surprise, not something we could ever manufacture.

Joy surprises you. It sneaks up on you like it sneaks up on a father on his daughter’s wedding day when he remembers the struggles of her growing-up years, and how uncertain her future looked, and he thinks about how life is still uncertain and there are no guarantees, yet he feels intensely the goodness of a world that has produced this moment and he is flooded with gratitude and amazement at being a father, and the whole day feels like a miracle. That’s joy. 

These experiences of joy that I’ve described can happen to anyone. They are not just for religious believers.  But joy does pose a question: does joy mean anything beyond the moment? Does it disclose anything about the universe? 

That’s where Christian have an answer: we say moments of joy are all hints of the joy that God has prepared for us in Jesus Christ. They are all of hints of the joy of Easter. Our experiences of joy give us a hint of that joy when all things will be redeemed and perfected in Jesus Christ in a

glory beyond all knowing. Joy is rooted in our conviction that this joy is   for all people.

That’s why on the other side of joy is compassion—-we know that joy is meant not just for us but for all people. We want others to know this joy. And so teachers working in underfunded schools can feel joy in their work, and so can doctors working in extreme circumstances, or parents caring for sick or difficult child. They experience moments of joy because sense that this is where God has called them to be—not discounting for a moment the challenges that go along with this vocation.  They are not happy about the way things are; but they have a deep joy in the work they do and in knowing the people they work with.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been hearing sections of the letter to the Philippians, in which Paul gives us some markers for thinking about life together in the church.

 We’ve mentioned how he uses the word koinonia as he talks about being partners in the gospel with the Philippians. Working together in the church, we have partners in the gospel, and that is reason for joy.

And Paul talks about our being citizens of heaven. We are citizens of God’s kingdom before we are Americans or Canadians or Democrats or Republicans. We find our identity in Christ. Having a citizenship in God’s kingdom is also part of our joy.

And Paul encourages us to have the mind of Christ—the mind that does not use his power for his own advantage but to serve others. That God himself works through a path of humility and obedience gives us joy as we walk on our path.

And there is a promise of joy in our life together. Not that life in the church is always happy or pleasant. But when we share faithfully in the ups and downs of ministry, as partners in the gospel, we are on the path that leads to joy.

So Rejoice always! “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”