We are coming to the end of the Easter season. This is often the second-longest season of the Church year, right after the long, green Season after Pentecost. And while the Season after Pentecost focuses on the life of Jesus and growing in our faith and discipleship (hence the green color), the Easter season is focused on the joy of the resurrection and the new life that brings. But we only have a handful of resurrection stories, so this is a harder season to maintain. For instance, have you noticed the Alleluias, which were enthusiastically said on Easter have dwindled in enthusiasm to where it’s now something we say routinely? It’s hard to maintain the happiness and enthusiasm of Easter over seven weeks.
But sometimes we get joy and happy confused. Sometimes, like in Easter maybe, we think we need to maintain that feeling of Easter happiness over the entire seven weeks. But joy and happiness, while related, are not necessarily the same thing.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion. We are happy when the sun shines after a stretch of gray. In this area, we’re happy to see a good accumulation of moisture. We’re happy to see an old friend, or when our favorite team wins, or when all the streetlights are synched in our favor. Happiness, in short, is based on external factors. Happiness occurs when we respond to positive triggers.
Joy, on the other hand, is based on internal factors. It comes from a sense of purpose and meaning. We find joy in relationships, careers, vocations, or any number of things that provide us with purpose and meaning. We can even find joy in suffering if we can tie it to a larger purpose.
We can live a joy-filled life without being happy all the time; and, to be honest, people who are happy all the time kind of worry me. There are times when we feel like we need to be happy all the time, but all that does is suppress other emotions that need to be examined or released. Think about Inside Out where it was Sadness that allowed Riley to deal with everything going on in her life.
So why am I discussing joy and happiness? Because I think our readings from Revelation and John can lead us to think about this.
Today’s gospel passage comes from the Farewell Discourse where Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure. In this passage Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will be sent in his name to remind them of everything he has said. It’s a way of telling the disciples, “You will not be left alone.”
A little later on in the Discourse, Jesus will tell them that he says these things so that his joy may live in them and that their joy may be complete. He also tells them that their sorrow will turn to joy. Jesus talks a lot about joy in the Farewell Discourse. Another place we see joy referenced is over in Luke. In a post-resurrection event, Luke says of the disciples, “While in their joy they were disbelieving.”
This is the joy of Jesus returning to the Father. It’s the joy of knowing we have been gifted with the Holy Spirit. It’s the joy of believing in resurrection even though we die. And this joy extends to the end of the ages.
Which brings me to Revelation.
Revelation gives us a vision of how things will be at the end of the ages. In today’s passage we have a vision of the holy city of God which needs no temple because God the Almighty is the temple. Nations will walk by its light, there will be no darkness, and its gates will always be open. And in that holy city the water of life flows through the middle of the city. This is that living water which Jesus promised to the Samaritan woman at the well and which he proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem.
The tree of life is also there, sprouting from either side of the river. The twelve kinds of fruit that will feed the nations recall both the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples. And as we close out the story of God and his people, this tree of life that feeds the people is the same tree of life that was found in the garden of Eden. It is the same tree of life that God was afraid Adam and Eve would eat from after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so they were evicted from the garden. We weren’t ready to eat from it then, but now, at the end of the age, God is giving it to us for food. And those who dwell in that holy city of God will have the name of God written on their foreheads. This is in contrast with those who had the mark of the beast on their forehead. This will not just be God, or Lord, but the actual name of God.
Revelation, far from being an apocalyptic nightmare that is used to terrorize other people is actually a book of comfort and hope. It’s designed to say, “The world operates one way, but THIS is how God operates.” The “THIS” being the way of love, compassion, comfort, and healing.
Putting our hope and faith in God through Christ leads us to joy. It leads us to know the joy of creation and that we will reside with God. It leads us to know the joy of resurrection even though we all die. It is that joy that allows us to make our song at the grave, “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,” even though we may be grieving.
We can work to find purpose and meaning in any number of areas in our lives. We can look for something deeper than just being happy, which can help us experience a deeper sense of joy. And beyond those things is where we can find joy in our relationship with God. A lived hope and faith in the resurrection is one way. An understanding that we have not been left alone but have been gifted with the Holy Spirit is another. And an understanding and belief that in the end, God wins, that he will dwell with us, we will be marked as his own, and we will eat from the tree of life may be the ultimate source of joy.
What gives us purpose and meaning in this place? What allows you to experience joy no matter what is happening out there?
As we come to the close of the Easter season, may the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life lead you into a deep and abiding joy found in the presence of God.
Amen.
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