In our Lenten sermon series this year, we are looking at Paul's letter to the Galatians, specifically at his list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in chapter 5. And we are going to dig deep into that list, determining what each of the fruits are based on the original Greek language Paul used to describe them. For each fruit, we will then talk about what the world offers to replace it, and finally, how the Spirit bears that fruit through us. We start tonight, NOT with love, but with the second fruit on the list, the fruit of “joy”....
You've seen the contrast already. I'm confident you know someone, maybe a relative, who lights up as soon as they have the opportunity to tell you exactly how badly their life is going. They are only as happy as they are miserable. And I'm confident you also know someone, whom no matter what tragedy has happened to them this week, they refuse to dwell on it, and they radiate positivity to the people around them. That difference...is joy....
When Paul wrote this letter to the churches in the region of modern-day Turkey known then as Galatia, it was pretty early in the process of the spread of Christianity. Galatians is the first of Paul's letters we have a copy of, written around 50 A.D., and most of the letter warns the Galatians not to get sucked in by people who were proclaiming you had to be Jewish first, before you could become Christian. But Paul also tucks this instruction about the fruits of the Spirit, in at the end. For people who had known of the Holy Spirit for a decade or less, it was important to teach them what to expect, and one of the things they could expect from the Spirit was joy. Paul used the Greek word, “xara,” the same word Luke placed in the angel's mouth announcing the birth of Messiah, and the same word John recorded Jesus saying the disciples would experience upon his resurrection. And if you are looking for a close English synonym to this Greek sense of the word “joy”, your best bets would be “gladness” or “cheerfulness.”
Who on earth would have a problem with cheerfulness? Well, apparently James, the brother of Jesus does, at least in his letter. He advises to let your joy be turned into dejection. But that was written in the context of humbly recognizing our sinfulness, releasing an arrogant and worldly joy in thinking you've gotten away with something. However, there are powerful groups in our society today who use their influence to push us towards the opposite of joy - enmities, strife, jealousy, and anger. Because joyful people make unreliable and unenthusiastic protesters, and these groups would like to see our society torn down and rebuilt for their benefit. And if you're not into protesting, the best the world can offer to replace joy, is a self-manufactured cheerfulness – a stiff, upper lip held in place by sheer willpower and cynicism. Or the fleeting and incomplete joy of a temporary run of good fortune.