Pursue God’s righteousness with a sense of joy

Lent is a serious time but not a somber time. The Rev. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, said, “Sour godliness is the devil’s religion.”

I remind myself because I tend to be serious. When my wife, Carol, told the medical director at her physical therapy practice that we were getting married, he said, “You have to promise me you’ll make him laugh. He’s too serious.” Carol has made good on her promise!

Perhaps you know the story of the Sunday school teacher who asked her class where they thought God lived. One child said, “In the sky, for heaven is there.” Another said, “God lives in each of our hearts!” and the teacher smiled.

Then little Ken’s hand rose. “Where do you think God lives, Ken?” asked the teacher. “In my bathroom,” he said. “In your bathroom?” the teacher asked in disbelief. Ken’s assured reply was, “Yes, because every morning my dad beats on the bathroom door and yells, ‘God, are you still in there?’”

Don’t get me wrong. I take the seven weeks of Lent seriously. I give extra gifts, pray and fast as Jesus reminded us in many of our churches on Ash Wednesday (Matthew 6:1-21). Although I probably shouldn’t have told you that, since Jesus reminded us to do it in secret so that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Oops! At least you don’t know “where” or “when.”

Still, these acts of holy living — our Jewish brothers and sisters call them mitzvahs — don’t necessarily produce joy. As one critic opined, “The problem with too many Christians is that they don’t look redeemed.”

The spread of the coronavirus is now a pandemic and certainly a cause for concern. Yet there is also contagion in laughter. As Charles Dickens reminds us:

The Rev. Dr. Brian R. Bodt

We rightly bemoan the anger and mean-spiritedness of our time. And laughter is no substitute for acts of justice, mercy and love. Still, one thing we can also do this Lent is to pursue God’s righteousness with a sense of joy. After all, we know how the story ends on Easter. With that, Philippians says truly, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Hearst Connecticut Media file