"Hopeful Joy"
"Hopeful Joy"
Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14
As I read this text, I invite you to close your eyes and imagine the world Isaiah is describing. He is using his words to imagine a place. Of course, he is not describing a real setting – he is painting a picture with words. Isaiah saw a temple high in the mountains where disputes are settled peacefully, swords turned into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks. The weapons of war become tools for cultivation. Through images, Isaiah offers the people of Jerusalem a new perspective, one that offers hope during times of war and despair.
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord! Isaiah 2:1-15
The scripture from the book of Romans reminds us to “put on Christ.” This is a call to remember our baptism, our initiation into a community called to be the hands and feet of Christ in a broken world. Advent is a time of anticipation. A time of hope for good and gracious things to come. But it isn’t a time of passive waiting. In this time between the darkness of night and the light of day each of us is called to “wake up and get dressed!”
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us walk decently as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in illicit sex and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13: 11-14
A Dalai Lama, an Archbishop and a Jew walk into a bar… and discuss joy… and write a book together! It’s a true story. And the book is called The Book of Joy. It was on the New York Times Bestseller list and was co-authored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams.
The three co-authors got together in April 2015, in India to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s eightieth birthday and to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering. They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, shared their spiritual practices, laughed, cried, and ultimately revealed how to live a life of joy. Author Douglas Abrams was there to record and write it all down for us.
The three authors did not want the book to be Christian or Buddhist or Hebrew – they simply wanted it to be a spiritual look at the enduring trait of joy (instead of a fleeting feeling). They envisioned the book as a three-layered birthday cake:
- Teaching on joy
- Science on joy
- Daily practices of joy
Happiness is fickle and requires happy circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, sticks around. It doesn’t get chased off by trouble. This truth is Biblical and is the basis of what the Dalai Lama and Bishop Tutu talked about throughout their time together. The words “joy,” “rejoice,” or “joyful” appear in the Bible a total of 430 times, compared with “happy” or “happiness,” which appear only ten times. Joy is lasting, and it satisfies the heart in a unique and marvelous way.
As you know, today we are talking about “hopeful joy”. I want to tell you about the special meeting between the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop in 2015. Although they had only met a half-dozen times before, this meeting in India was extremely special to them. It had been delayed twice so that the Archbishop could attend funerals for his peers, and other times because of health and global politics. When the time finally came, the Archbishop hobbled down the steep airstairs from the plane as the Dalai Lama approached. The Dalai Lama was smiling, his eyes sparkling behind his large square-framed glasses. He bowed low and the Archbishop spread his arms out, and they embraced. They separated and held each other’s shoulders, gazing into each other’s eyes, as if trying to convince themselves that they were together again. This is what hopeful joy looks like.
The Dalai Lama, still holding the Archbishop’s small shoulders, puckered as if to blow him a kiss. The Archbishop’s raised his left hand, gold wedding ring shining, and clasped the Dalai Lama’s chin as one might do to one’s precious grandchild. Then the Archbishop went in for a kiss on the cheek. The Dalai Lama, not accustomed to kisses from anyone, flinched but also laughed with delight, which was quickly accompanied by the Archbishop’s high-pitched cackle.
“You don’t like a kiss,” the Archbishop said, and give him another on the other cheek. They both giggled. These great men giggled together with glee. Perhaps this is why they draw crowds that fill football stadiums when they speak – because of their inner joy. As Mother Teresa said, “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
The next day, when they spoke about the difference between happiness and joy, the Archbishop said to the Dalai Lama, “Many people look at you and they think of all the awful things that have happened to you. Nothing can be more devastating than being exiled from your home, from the things that are precious to you. And yet when people come to you, they experience someone who has a wonderful serenity… a wonderful compassion… a mischievousness…”
That’s the right word,” the Dalai Lama added. “I don’t like too much formality.”
“Don’t interrupt me,” the Archbishop elbowed back.
“Oh!” The Dalai Lama laughed at his reprimand.
Joy subsumes happiness. Joy is the far greater thing. Think of a mother who is going to give birth. Almost all of us want to escape pain. And mothers know that they are going to have pain, the great pain of giving birth. But we accept it. And after the baby is born – you cannot measure a mother’s joy. It is one of the most incredible things that joy can come quickly after suffering. This is what hopeful joy looks like.
There is a story about a small Austrian town which was about to be attacked. The town had no way to defend itself. Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with eighteen thousand men before this small Austrian town which had no means of defense. The town council had nearly decided to surrender when the old dean of the church reminded them that it was Easter and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God's hands. This they did; and the French, hearing the church bells ringing joyfully, concluded that an Austrian army had come to relieve the place and quickly broke camp. Before the bells ceased ringing, all the Frenchmen had vanished!
Perhaps you know of individuals who have replicated this situation in their own lives – they have rung the joy bells in the face of pain, sickness, fear, loneliness, or other circumstances. And the joy bells have conquered whatever appeared to be the strong forces attacking.
At the end of each sermon in this series, I will share one of the joy practices from the book. The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop suggest that laughing at ourselves to develop humor is an important practice for joy. Last year, my youngest son suggested that I needed to “chill out” and laugh at myself more often. I took him at his word.
You see, my son Ian – who is the funniest in our family – sent me a Christmas gift last year that was built up over the whole month of December as the best gift I would receive. Ian is so funny that once, when he was college-aged, he got a tattoo of ruby red lips on his behind (a tattoo we still get to view periodically when he moons us!) Back to the Christmas gift: Everyone called and texted about how much I was going to LOVE this gift! Ian about busted his phone calling and texting to see if I had received the package during the week before Christmas. The package arrived late because it came "postage due."
Ian wanted to FaceTime when I opened the gift. The time finally came and we were all connected via FaceTime to open the small envelope. I had no clue what could have been such a big deal. Would it be something priceless like a picture of all the grandkids? Or something sentimental like a family tree or Mom’s ring? It was a piece of jewelry! Out of the envelope fell a pair of cheap wooden earrings with a large picture of Ian’s tattoo plastered on them! Just what every mom wants – a large pair of earrings with big red lips on them. I have to say that I was not nearly as amused as everyone else.
It was shortly after this that Ian gave me advice about laughing at myself more often. Do you know what happened? Those earrings began to appear in the strangest places!
- One of my Santa’s wore them on his earlobes… and I took a picture and sent it out to the family.
- Another day, the Virgin Mary in one of my nativity scenes donned the earrings. Another picture went out.
- Friends puckered up and kissed my earring lips. More pictures were sent.
- These earrings have been around the block since Christmas.
And a funny thing happened. I suddenly found joy in the gift! I have had more fun imagining where the earrings will go next.
The Dalai Lama and the Bishop are right! Laughing at ourselves to develop humor is an important practice for joy. I had forgotten. My mom and her friend Joyce did this all the time. They house sat for each other when one left town. Whenever one of them came home, there was always a surprise left to discover! It could be delightful (a homemade meal waiting to eat) or funny (live fish swimming in the toilets)! Opening ourselves to a different perspective can bring a sense of hope in the midst of despair–allowing joy to creep in no matter what.
So, this week, your practice of joy is to find a way to laugh at yourself! Develop a little humor by laughing at yourself and share the humor with others. Of course, I would love to hear about it if you have time to text or email me!
Resources Used:
"The Book of Joy" by the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams.