"Because God is Near"             2009

Isaiah 12:2-6            Philippians 4:4-8

 

Isaiah 12:2-6

2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God * is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.  3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  4And you will say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.  5Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

let this be known in all the earth. 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

 

Philippians 4:4-8

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about* these things.

 

When I was a seminary student preparing for ministry,

            I served as a hospital chaplain as a part of my coursework,

                                    and my assignment was in the heart patients' section.

 

One evening, after an open heart surgery

            I was visiting a patient in the cardiac intensive care unit,

                            and a nurse asked

                                    if I would be willing to see another patient nearby.

 

When I met Mary, she was strapped in a wheel chair,

            hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment and monitors,

                        and slumped over as she sort of smiled up at me.

 

Her face was horribly deformed, part of it was missing,

            and I never did know the full extent of her injuries.

 

Her appearance was shocking,

                        even grotesque, and I immediately felt sorry for Mary;à

                                    physically deformed,

                                                restricted to living life in a wheel chair,

            and as the nurse had told me, in constant and untreatable pain.

I wondered how she could stand it,

                        and what was the point of her living that way,

                            with such terrible and endless suffering.

 

But as I began to include Mary in my regular hospital rounds,

                I came to greatly admire rather than pity

                        this most remarkable and godly   gentle Christian woman.

 

She was a favorite of the staff, nurses and doctors, for she was

            a warm, contagiously happy, and joyfully content human being;

 

                        who rather than any complaining or bitterness,

                                       managed to convey and spread her gift and graceà

                                         of gentleness, joy and laughter to all around her.

 

However there was one drawback in making a visit to Mary;

 

            - which was     that she usually had a long list à

                        of other patients she was concerned about,

                                                            and she always insisted

                                                                        that I visit and pray with them first,

                                                                                    before she would allow

                                                                                                me to sit and pray with her.

 

Over the years since seminary I've thought a lot about Mary.

 

I believe that she was able to be so consistently joyful,

            to endure such extreme suffering and pain in her life,

                            and even to minister joy and love to others around her,

                                           because by faith,

                                                she clung to God, and she stayed near her Lord.

 

By living her life near to the Lord

            she was able to love and trust God, her friend, completely.

                        And quite intentionally,

                              she always looked to notice the good of God around herà

                                      so that she could thank and praise the Lord for it…

 

            … which shifted her focus off of her own self and her troubles,

                        and onto God-centered gratitude and joy,  creating in her,

                                    a deep contentment and compassion for other people.

 

This, I believe, is the point that Paul was making

            to the Philippians   in the passage we read earlier today.

 

The apostle is writing from a terrible place of suffering …

            as a prisoner of Rome under the threat of execution.

                        And yet he writes, vs. 4-7

            Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness

be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

As a pastor, I have seen considerable human suffering,

            and, "rejoice", or "thanksgiving", or "praise"

               are not normally the words I hear when someone talks about it.

 

I have observed that when trouble or crisis does strike,

            that some people will remain  crushed  and become embittered,

                        while others manage to endure with   truly amazing grace,

                                    and with unimaginable faith, courage and strength.

And this isn't determined by the severity of their situation,

            as much as it is,    a reflection of their heart and attitude.

 

I see folks

            who at the least little thing will make crazy and fall apart,

                        while others  somehow withstand unbelievable blows and

                             keep on singing joyfully and praising God's goodness.

 

This is in no way about a false or blind refusal to face reality,

            and Paul is not saying smile anyway and just try to be happy.

 

Notice that Paul does not write, "rejoice always",

            but rather his words are, "rejoice  in the Lord   always."

                            The Lord is the critical factor

                                    who makes the 'rejoice' amid trouble   a possibility.

 

Paul is saying that because the Lord is near and we know it,

            because of who God is, God's promises and what God does,

                        the coming of Christ defeats our anxiety and fear.

Paul's greatest joy is derived  through his assurance from God

            that nothing in all of creation can separate us

                        from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord …

                                    … for what really matters, is that we belong to God!

 

Actually, the joy that Paul is describing,

            is a bold and defiant joy, despite any external circumstances;

                            because even amid our worst calamity or disappointment,

                                     by faith,   we know that God's love   will sustainà

                                                and support us through whatever comes our way.

 

Trusting in God's  loving promise

            of the kingdom and eternal life that awaits us,

                        means that we can endure with courage and strength, even joy,

                                    because by faith God's Holy Spirit brings us through.

 

Following Paul's example of joy despite a prison cell,

            my friend Mary, even amid terrible suffering in the hospital,

                        graciously and joyfully lived out Paul's words, vs. 8

            Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

 

We are now well into Advent season, and for many of us,

            we are already way behind with much more to do

                        than we have time or energy  to accomplish it all   in time.

 

And despite the happy music in the malls, all is not well for us all.

            Some are facing this year's Christmas celebration

                        without dear loved ones,   who will be greatly missed.

            There are serious financial concerns, even the loss of jobs.

 

Families may be struggling in secret or shame

            because of severed relationships, addictions or even abuse.

 

These can be busy days, and tense times of high stress and worry;

            and to speak of joy can seem to be a painfully cruel joke,

                        of just one more seasonal demand and expectation

                             another cause for guilt, another hope that goes unmet.

Paul would say, don't make our joy   dependent upon circumstances,

            but find our joy in the Lord,  vs. 4~8

                        Rejoice in the Lord always; … in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus… if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

That is Paul's formula and recipe for Christmas joy.

            Our joy comes

                        from living within a righteous relationship with God,

                                    as God intends and desires for us.

 

Joy along with peace comes as God's gracious gift

            with the coming of Jesus Christ into our lives…

… and to miss the joy of Christmas is to miss the point of Christmas.

 

I cannot explain it, but this I know   and I promise that its true,

                that if we will focus our attention and attitude

                        upon catching glimpses of God's love and grace

                            so that we can thank, honor and praise the Lord,à

                                                    then surely the gift of joy will overtake us.

 

It just happens             when we allow God à

            to do his works of mercy, grace and compassion through us.

 

The contagious joy that Paul described and my friend Mary lived,

            is the deep contentment of knowing that God is with us,

                                                    for ultimately   joy is God's gracious love

                                                            that is in search  of a life to transform.

 

Or to paraphrase and personalize the prophet Isaiah's words:

 

                        I shout and sing for joy that the Lord is near,

                                    for God has rescued me,

                                                cleansed, saved, healed and He protects me,

                                                            and so nothing terrifies me anymore.

 

                        The Lord God has become my strength and might,

                                    and so like water,   I draw peace and joy

                                                    from the ever-flowing fountain

                                                            of God's saving gracious love.

 

 

In 1719, declining health forced a pastor to give up his preaching,

            and so Isaac Watts  began to rewrite the Psalms into hymns

                so that they proclaimed Christian truth, the gospel message.

Later we will sing the hymn he derived from Psalm 98,

                        "Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her King."