Today's readings:
Psalm 40:12
Numbers 13: 30 - 33
Luke 4: 1 - 13
Once again, it seems as if joy is in short supply. The one verse from Psalm 40 is especially gloomy - the writer's sins outnumber the hairs on his head (which we cannot fail but hear in conjunction with the NT assertion that even the hairs on our heads are counted). The Numbers reading is the report of the spies who were sent to inspect the Land of Promise, where Caleb offers a negative reaction - great place but peopled by giants. And Luke gives us the Temptations of Jesus.
So, hmm, yes, joy. I think I have to come at this from a slight tangent, and work with the Luke:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’" The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’" Jesus answered, "It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
One way we can look at these temptations is that they run counter to the essence of joy-filled living. The quick fix solution to hunger, as if material well-being was the only thing that matters. The allure of power, achieved through questionable allegiance and dubious practices, as if power was an end in itself. The publicity stunt to attract attention, as if celebrity was the key to success.
Joy somehow survives struggle, poverty, disease, hunger, even physical death. That does not mean that we can ignore injustice or become narcissistic or ego-centric. But joy is not the product of material satisfaction, it is something that both precedes and survives it.
Joy cannot be manufactured through power or celebrity, as the saying goes, 'money can't buy you love' or happiness, or fulfilment or anything else.
Perhaps these various readings, with seeming dearth of joy, lead us to pause and reconsider what motivates us, what we are seeking when we aspire to bigger better, brighter... We won't find fulfilment in 'bread alone' we need God-given joy.
The X-factor winners have been named
The Young Apprentice has her prize
Soon Master Chef (the Professionals)
And Strictly will announce their winners.
Five minutes of fame,
Of celebrity,
Of public recognition.
And we are pleased for them:
That their goal has been reached,
Their endeavour rewarded.
But -
Do they have joy?
God of the wilderness,
Literal and metaphorical,
You alone are the source of joy
You alone give us the ability
To keep on
Keeping on
And on
And on
And on...
Fullness of life is not located in material wealth
Worth is not found in the power we wield
Acclaim does not arise from celebrity
Grant us instead
Dogged determination
Resilience against negativity
The assurance of your accompaniment
For these, surely,
Are the outworking of joy
Amen.