Practicing Joy

(The following is another of my occasional pastoral letters to my congregation. Enjoy!)

Last December, when our Advent calendar turned to the week of joy, I thought a bit about how we speak of joy personally, but not so much corporately. Joy is a personal experience for us, but is it something we have learned how to express as a people?

In our conservative, and dare I say “Baptist” environment, we seem to have trouble with some aspects of the joyous, expressive kind of life that was the experience of God’s people further back in history, and is prophesied to be our life in Heaven. It is almost embarrassing to have to admit, but we would probably prefer the Bible shy away from some of the descriptions given with approval of general merriment that God’s people should enjoy. Here are a few examples that I’ve been pondering.

1. Loud music and shouting is a regular feature of the corporate worship of God’s people. See 1 Chron. 15:28 (the ark of the covenant brought to Jerusalem), 2 Chron. 15:14 (the oath sworn to God accompanied by trumpets and horns), Psalm 33:3 (music to God with strings and loud shouts), 47:1 (“Shout to God with loud songs of joy”), 150:5 (“Praise him with loud, clashing cymbals). Why is it that when God’s people, especially some of his younger people, seek to obey this injunction, others in God’s family find their actions unacceptable and worthy of criticism? “Decently and in order” does not preclude loud shouts and loud music, unless one Scripture contradicts another. I find that some who don’t like loud contemporary music have no problem with loud choir, organ, and orchestra. So, let’s agree that loud is not unspiritual—in fact, it is often most spiritual.

2. “Dancing for joy” before the Lord is an appropriate and God-honoring form of worship. 2 Samuel 6:14 has David dancing before the Lord with all his might, and the only critic is his wife, Michal, who finds herself forsaken for her attitude about it. Psalm 149:3 and 150:4 instruct us to praise God with the tambourine (we do that sometimes) and dance (never). And Ecclesiastes 3:4 assures us that there is a time to dance, but we haven’t found it yet. God promises Israel that in their restoration they will go forth in the dance of the merrymakers (Jeremiah 31:4-13). Lots of dancing went on in Israel, so that David could speak of God turning his mourning into sitting. Oh wait, it actually says mourning into dancing. Now, this isn’t some romantic waltzing or couple’s skate that’s in view. It is moving to the music around them in worship or celebration. It is so natural that every child does it. We have to train people to stay still when musical rhythm appears, driving the music right out of them. God made us respond to music and rhythm this way. So, why are we bothered if anyone worshipping God finds themselves ready to move when the music has a strong rhythm? I’ve actually had complaints if one of our worship singers moves back and forth to the beat of the music. And if “beat” is an objection, then ask how music that features cymbals and tambourines, and is suitable for celebratory dancing in the Bible, could possibly NOT have a strong beat. Have you ever considered that “Victory in Jesus” has a foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’ rhythm that could be, well, moved to?

3. Feasting and celebrating, Bible style, was much more fun than a lot of “church people” gatherings are today. Honestly, is your idea of a really good time sitting in chairs in a circle in the church Fellowship Hall? The Israelites were commanded to party—in fact, their feasts were often a week at a time, when no work was to be done, and everyone was to come together and feast every day. A verse I am going to have to explain in our upcoming sermon series is this:

Ecclesiastes 9:7 “Go, eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”

One thing I can tell you already—this is not bad advice; it is the Teacher giving us an appropriate conclusion from some of his investigations into life. Do you ever think about the Wedding Supper of the Lamb? If you do, do you picture a nice, sedate, church-style wedding reception? If so, you don’t have the biblical picture—just look at the wedding at Cana, or any biblical era wedding feast. Realize that we are going to have a party unlike any other, with the Host Himself leading the celebration with His bride (us)! We will not sit sedately in a circle of chairs, asking Old Testament saints where they bought that new chariot. We will not stand frozen while the celebration music plays. And we most definitely will not be drinking red punch (of course, we don’t allow red punch here, so that’s OK already). Having been to celebrations in other cultures with Christians, I have found that many of them have held onto a much better understanding of the need to celebrate together with great joy and energy than we have developed. I have also seen that church members really know how to celebrate touchdowns and buzzer-beating baskets. So why are we so restrained when it comes to good things that really matter?

As I think about these things, I wonder if we make the Gospel less appealing to the world when we live as if all real expressions of deep joy must wait for Heaven. The Israelites didn’t live that way, and neither did the early church (see how often we read of them rejoicing together, and eating together daily or weekly). Christians in lands of great persecution still manifest joyousness in their gatherings that eludes us. Our salvation should not be portrayed to the world as only a promise of joy to come. Our gatherings ought not to be marked solely by theoretical joy. We know God now. He lives in and among us now. He is available to us as the source of all true joys now. He gives good gifts now. We are His people now. Thus, to be more biblical, let’s make 2007 a remedial session on bringing our joy out of our hearts and into our times together.