Gifts of the Spirit: Joy Galatians 5:22-23

Laughter Came from Every Brick Just these two words He spoke Changed my life, "Enjoy me." What a burden I thought I was to carry - A crucifix, as did He. Love once said to me, "I know a song, Would you like to hear it?" And laughter came from every brick in the street And from every pore In the sky. After a night of prayer, He Changed my life when He sang, "Enjoy me." ---St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) "But the gift of the Spirit is love, joy..." Who would have thought that the journey of faith would be filled with joy? For most of us, the association we carry with faith is: duty. We associate faith with working hard to be good, with working hard to make things different than they are in this wide world, with giving to the poor because we should give to the poor. We live our lives in terms of rules. "But the gift of the Spirit is joy..." As I thought about the gifts of the Spirit - and they are gifts, given freely to us, given only through relationship to God, through the Spirit of God - I looked at every word: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - I realized that these words are words of "qualities." They are not a list of activities or accomplishments. We are a people who like to quantify things, and these "gifts" or "qualities" cannot be quantified. They simply are. They are part of those who have these qualities. This past week, a friend of mine pointed out that the lives of people in the obituaries are written differently than they used to be. Apparently someone did a study of the obituaries and found that, in the past, when someone died, their obituary included a description of what kind of person they were, in other words, their qualities. Now, however, the obituaries often list the associations and accomplishments of the people who have died. Since I have taken, in later years, to reading the obituaries, as my mother did before me, I can say that what she said is true. As the election rolls around, and as the American people go through this difficult and enduring campaign, I know that again and again we will be told about what each candidate believes and does not believe, what they have done and not done, who they have associated with and who they have spoken to. We will not, however, learn much about the character of the candidates, although at every event, at every town meeting, their character, their qualities, will be what we see. We are not yet, I fear, at that moment in history, when the words of The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. will count: "When we will judge a human being not by the color of skin, but by the quality of their character..." We are too culturally attuned to accomplishments, to what is in the coffer, to be impressed with character. And yet, character seems to be just what we need. Do we even know how to judge character? "But the gift of the Spirit is joy..." The gifts of the Spirit speak to the character of a person. Studies have been done, as we know, again and again, about the productivity of workers. What studies have shown is that people who enjoy their work accomplish much more, take fewer sick days, and are more productive than people who are unhappy with their work. What is joy? I have come to think that joy is different than happiness. Joy is a deep, deep, spiritual awareness of life, an awareness that transfigures the way we live and the way we look at life. Joy is not without hope, hope that for as little as we can do, our presence in the world makes a difference. Joy is not dependent on circumstances. One can carry the quality of joy into the darkest of places. Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope, and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. Joy is our elated response to feelings of happiness, experiences of pleasure, and awareness of abundance. It is also the deep satisfaction we know when we are able to serve others and be glad for their good fortune. In my own spiritual journey, I have come to know this joy. When I think of Jesus, I say to myself: "He changed my life." What I mean, is that now I have a center, a center to which I can always return. In even the darkest of times, I am not without hope. And I, too, have known joy. Even in the darkest times, I tell you. I know that I am not alone. Joy is given in relationship to God. When we live our faith with joy - instead of with duty - the way we do things is changed. When we serve, we serve with joy. It is our joy to be of service, to have these gifts, to give with joy. We don't do things because we "should," as Christians. We are given the gift to be able to give. How different we would serve our Food Pantry if we served with joy instead of duty! How differently you would serve as a parent if you served with joy instead of duty! How differently we would serve at church if we served with joy instead of duty! One way to practice joy is to begin to notice - give yourself the freedom to notice - those things that give you joy. Give yourself the gift - given by God to you, after all - of choosing those things that you enjoy. Think of joy as a way to dance through your life. Consider that those joyful things in your life are God's gift to you - God's gift of the Spirit, given to you to enjoy! "Be joyful always, pray at all times, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." --- 1 Thessalonians 5 Verena Kast, a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, has written an engaging and thought-provoking book on the neglected emotions of elation. Joy, inspiration, and hope have often been disparaged by scholars as childish and naïve but they are essential to psychic health and spiritual well-being. Kast views joy as the doorway to inspiration and hope. It has many sources - grace, discovery, delight - and can provide buoyancy and self-assurance like nothing else. The author recommends keeping an autobiography of joy in order to realize how this emotion can color our days. Questions asked could include: What in my life has given me joy? How have I expressed my joy? How does joy affect my experience of myself? How does it affect my relationships? How do I keep control of my joy? What spoils it? Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin --June 8th, 2008

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