But Jesus is clear – his desire for his disciples is a complete joy, a joy that cannot be taken away, even by social media. And therefore, the basis of that joy has to be greater than fickle, unreliable, mortal human beings. The basis of that joy has to be greater than the magnitude of the pain that this life can dish out, like the joy of the new mother who can somehow forget the pain of childbirth. The basis of that joy IS the resurrection of Jesus, the ultimate sign of God's love, and God's trustworthiness. If the joy of disciples is not complete, they are to ask God, and receive.
And the role of the Holy Spirit, then, is to remind us constantly of God's love and trustworthiness, and to convince us to ask. The Spirit reminds us that, like Jesus and the scars on his wrists, when the resurrection comes, we will remember the pain of this life, but only as a fact and not as a feeling. And that helps us deal with the birthing pain right now. The Spirit reminds us that no matter how petty and bitchy, or how evil and cruel the people around us may be – justice is coming with the resurrection, and that helps us let go of grievances. And, the Spirit reminds us that no matter what sinful acts we have done in the past – God wants us with him in the resurrection, and when we draw near to him, he will draw near to us.
If you've done the math, you know that we have 8 fruits of the Spirit left to cover, and 4 more sermons to go. Next week, we WILL look at the fruit of love...and the fruit of kindness.
Gracious God, we thank you for the good news of great joy that your Son Jesus was born, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Help us to live in this great joy, through the work of your Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen.