It was somewhere around the year 1890, when Christian missionaries arrived in for northern Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, where members of the Inuit tribe had lived for a couple thousand years. After arriving, one of the first things the missionaries hoped to accomplish was to get the Bible translated into the Inuit’s native language.
Now, whenever you translate the Bible in any culture, it can be a challenge, because languages don’t always have equivalent words.
This was the problem in northern Alaska. The translators discovered that in the Inuit language, there was no word for “joy.” It didn’t exist. They had words for “happy,” “fun,” “excited,” and other emotions…but no word for joy (Of course, if I lived in 12 months of perpetual winter, I’m not sure I would have a word for “joy” either). So, the translators struggled to find a way to communicate this concept.
Then they noticed that the happiest, the most joyful moments in those native villages were in the evening when the they would feed their big, Alaskan sled dogs. The dogs would yelp and jump, and wag their tails and get all excited. And the natives would feed them, and play with them, and laugh, and just love their dogs. And so, out of that experience, the translators found their word…their translation. The word “joy” was translated in the Inuit language as: “wagging your tails.”
How did this live itself out? Well, for example, consider the familiar scripture verse from Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” It was translated into “wag your tail in the Lord always, again I say…wag your tail.” And the natives…they understood what it meant.
Pastor Chris will now demonstrate this form of joy for us…no…never mind…none of us actually want to see that.
I think in some ways, we are not all that different than those members of the Inuit tribe. We may know the word joy…but I’m not certain we really understand what it means. I’m not certain it translates into our daily lives.
This week we step into the second week of our sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit. And we are going to think together a bit about the spiritual fruit, of “joy.”
Listen to these words from our scripture text from Hebrews: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful <people>, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
So, let’s get one thing straight: Joy is not the same as happiness. They’re not. Author, Sarah Habben wrote that “happiness is circumstantial. It winks on and off like a fire-fly’s backside. Hitting green lights all the way to work makes us happy. Getting rear-ended in the parking lot makes us unhappy. A compliment from a teacher makes us happy. Being criticized by friends makes us unhappy. Happiness hangs out at backyard barbecues and waterparks. But it’s an infrequent guest at funerals…and in ER waiting rooms.”
But Joy, you see…joy is different! Joy isn’t a feeling. It is more of a knowing. What did it say in the book of Hebrews again? “For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus’ joy came from knowing that he was about to reconcile a sinful humanity, with a holy God. He was going to become the bridge that would close the gap between God and us.
Was Jesus happy when he anticipated the agony of the cross…being abandoned by his Father, carrying the weight of our sins, and ultimately death? No. Not at all. He was overwhelmed by sorrow. In fact, he was so sorrowful that the night before he was betrayed and arrested, he prayed: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.”
And even in his fear and sorrow, Jesus knew the joy of fulfilling his mission: gifting the world with the love and forgiveness that we could never earn on our own.
By going to the cross, the Son of God mended the tear that our sin had caused between heaven and earth. And because of that, Jesus felt joy! Not happiness, but joy.
In a great sermon last week, Pastor Amanda spoke about the spiritual fruit of love. And she talked about remembering that love always has a source. Like how your gas line brings warmth to your home in the winter…and the electrical cables bring light into your home on a dark night…love always has a source, and that source is Jesus. The exact same thing can be said of joy. Joy has a source. Joy comes from somewhere.
The pain of the cross brought Jesus joy because it had a greater purpose. And it is here at the cross that we find the source of our joy. Because if we can find Christ on the cross, then we can find him everywhere, even when everything is painful and makes no sense.
I see this all the time. I’ll often see it, ironically enough, in funerals. At a funeral, there is always sadness. And sadness is appropriate…because there is loss. But in the hundreds of funerals I’ve done over the years, I’ve noticed something: when the person who died…and their family…are people of faith…when they put their trust in Jesus…yes, there is sadness in the moment, but there is also an underlying joy…because they know…they are confident…that their loved one…though they will be missed…that they are fully in the presence of God…that they are walking with Jesus.
They say that you can see God’s hand in all of creation…in all of its beauty…and I believe this is true. But theologian Paul Wendland says that if you want to see God’s heart, you have to go to the cross. He writes that it is there at the cross that you will see not only God’s love for all…but God’s absolute dedication to you…even when (and especially because) you sin.
Knowing this changes the way I look at my troubles…my problems. The things that can cause me pain can cut deep…but God’s grace is much, much deeper. And that, my friends, is a reason for joy.
Now, joy doesn’t mean that there can be no sadness. Not at all. These two things can co-exist. Years ago, I lost a good friend, a pastor in the Twin Cities, to cancer. I have spoken about him here before. It was a tragic and devastating loss, and it was like a kick right in my gut.
In the midst of that loss, I wrote a blog post about the level of pain when you lose someone close to you. And a well-intentioned, well-meaning person…someone I didn’t know…responded to my post and said “how can you be sad? Tom is in heaven! You should be celebrating…you should be full of joy!”
Now, I know what this person was trying to do, and I appreciate their intentions. Really I do. But at that time, in that moment, my heart needed to be sad. I needed to grieve. And to be honest, I didn’t need someone “back-seat driving,” my emotions.
Yes, I knew that joy would come. But I also knew that to get there, I would need to experience my grief. As I often say, to get to Easter Sunday, you must walk through Good Friday. Right?
I think the underlying lesson in all of this is that our emotions go up and down depending on what is going on around us…sometimes hourly. But joy is a spiritual fruit that is borne out of something much greater than ourselves…and like a river under a boat, it is always there. We have to teach ourselves to see it…to let it wash over us.
That person who wrote me about my friend Tom was partially right. And I do have complete faith in God’s promises. And because of that I did eventually feel joy for the gift of the resurrection that I knew my friend Tom was experiencing.
And I think that is the secret of joy. It is nothing we can snap our fingers and create. It comes from God, and like love, and peace, and the other fruit of the Spirit, it surrounds us…but we have to recognize that it comes from God…we have to sense it…we have to know it’s there and we have to be open to it. Then…then joy comes.
In Jesus’ final hours, he leaves his disciples with the promise of joy: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” As we abide in God’s love, our joy increases. That joy isn’t fleeting, like happiness is. Joy in the Lord is lasting. It will stay by our side through all circumstances. We may not always recognize it…or sense it…but it is there.
In Psalm 30, we are advised to:
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Perhaps you feel joy today…and if you do, I am glad. Maybe you don’t feel joy today…and maybe you won’t tomorrow. But have faith that joy is there. It is more than a feeling…it is a knowing…and a trust…a trust that there is something greater than ourselves; that there is love, and grace; and that it is for you.
And though your emotions go up and down with life’s circumstances…joy is deeper. Joy is there.
Believe. Believe this: “Weeping may linger for the night, joy comes with the morning.”
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Test Driving Theology 