Paul had no illusions
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) “In all things give thanks...” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
When Paul wrote these words he was well aware of the fact that life could be very difficult. He had been persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, ostracised from his community. He had no illusion that life would be easy and trouble free, and yet he wrote ‘rejoice and give thanks’. He was challenging people to think about the way in which they would respond to the realities of life, not with naïve optimism but with a conscious choice to focus on God, whatever the circumstance.
The congregation which I serve, along with my colleague, the Rev. David E. Campbell, is about to enter into its 60th year of existence, and we are planning a yearlong acknowledgement of this milestone.
As organizations and groups are prone to do, we have chosen a theme for this anniversary – “Choosing Celebration.” This is not the musing of a group of people who have their heads in the clouds trying to pretend that there is nothing to be concerned about in life, nor is it an effort to suggest to people that we in the church have everything figured out and life is wonderful all of the time.
We know that there are many things happening around us and to us that can easily get in the way of celebration. Who among us is not disturbed by and leery of the efforts of terrorists? We see the awful effects of famine and wonder what, if anything, we can do to help. There is climate change, wars, economic depression, the plight of displaced people, drug abuse and prejudice to name but a few of the disturbing realities that come to our attention on a regular basis.
Perhaps we endure personal challenges because of physical illness, grief, unemployment, family issues, addictions, depression, loneliness, uncertainty about our own future. We all have burdens that we bear and they take their toll on us. It would be irresponsible for us to deny this and it would be wrong not to seek help or to offer help to others. In light of this, we have a choice to make. We can succumb to the negative forces that assail us, letting them have the upper hand or we can choose to direct our thoughts in other ways. In the Christian community, we talk about having Good News to share, the Good News that proclaims the fact that God loves us.
We say that God is with us throughout life and that ‘there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from that love’ (Romans 8). We say that we trust God’s Holy Spirit to guide and support us. Saying the words is the easy part. Giving the words life is when the work begins, for making these words real and meaningful requires a choice — to choose celebration.
We can choose to rejoice and give thanks for all that God has done and will do for us. We can choose to celebrate the fact that we are children of God and that God’s love continually surrounds us, giving us the strength, and the incentive, to face the hardships that intrude into our experiences. We can choose to make room for God when life is good and zest for living is keen.
For our 60th anniversary at Park Royal United, and in thanksgiving for God’s life giving love, we are ‘Choosing Celebration’. May you know the reality of God’s love in your life, and find your own reason to choose celebration.