Joy Knows

 Devotions for November 17, 2020

 

Prayer

Joyous and giving God, I give you thanks this day for your spilling all over gladness and goodness. You make my heart sing even when things are tough and rough. You have shown deep compassion and you don’t stop loving. Guide me this day and be with all those that I love and care about,… Help me also to love those that I might label as “enemies.” Teach me to see each as yours and loved by you. Yet, also reprove the wicked and turn back evil. Show us ways today to preserve your all your works and your beautiful Creation. In Christ Jesus, I pray. Amen.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Reflection

Photo Source: Rgbstock / Composition: Sue Chastain

Sometimes, I laugh too much or smile too much. There I said it. Maybe I take this passage too much to heart. There have been a few interpersonal moments where communication hinges on me taking the conversation seriously. I am a goofball and I know it. I know that you can’t sing into the face of someone that is experiencing a hardship or deep sadness. You have to just be there with them and try to be an anchor of hope and a flower in the rain. This is the nature of rejoicing always, it is a positivity that isn’t fake or contrived, but a realistic perspective that sees the full arch into the Reign of Christ. It knows that there is no confusion about the gardener and the stone rolled away if the memory of the thorns and nails is too hard to forget. This runs deeper than a platitude. You can’t just say a sickeningly sweet proverb to someone in pain and walk away. Joy is more honest than temporary happiness. Joy knows the ultimate truths that are inconvenient and incontrovertible. You can’t take the top off of joy because the bottom of hell has a massive escape hatch.