Jesus came to earth to save our souls... and that should give us great joy! And while he was here, he spent his days...giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and restoring men and women to their families and communities. These are works that yield great joy, and he also stood up for the disenfranchised, invited outcasts to His banquet, calmed the sea, told truth to power, and kept the wine flowing at a community wedding. Joy upon joy upon joy. Each of these acts created great joy, and there were many other joy-producing things that Jesus did. Indeed, the air was filled with hope and promise when Jesus lived on earth. According to Scripture, the wise men rejoiced when they saw the star and heaven applauds with joy when a shepherd carries a single sinner home. According to Scripture, neighbors gather with joy when a widow finds a lost coin and a father throws a joyful bash when his prodigal son staggers home. Joy! Joy! Joy! Joy, the Bible says, is a gift of the Spirit and an unmistakable part of God's presence... so where has it gone?
Where's the joy? Where are the tambourines? Who turned the music off? And why are so many Christians so somber? Well, it's hard to say... because people lose their sense of joy for any number of reasons. Some people just never have much joy to lose. They were born on a rainy day and it has rained ever since. Some people lose their joy when tragedy strikes. They just can't get out from under their grief. Some people are too "smart" to embrace simple things with joy. Church communities become joy-less for a number of reasons too, but generally, they lose their joy because they forget what they're doing and why they're doing it. Their journey gradually becomes more and more about securing a "nest egg" and protecting traditions... and less and less about bold ministries and radical grace. Without vision and passion, churches come down with a disease that I call "Churchism"... which is a mindless coming and going, and a doing of things for no particular reason. The door is unlocked, the lights are on, the restrooms are clean, the choir is practicing, and somewhere in the building, a committee is meeting-but no one actually knows why! There is no dreaming. No questioning. And no one even expects God to show up on Sunday mornings!
Where's the joy? Where are the tambourines? Who turned the music off? And why are so many Christians so somber? Well, it's hard to say... because people lose their sense of joy for any number of reasons. Some people just never have much joy to lose. They were born on a rainy day and it has rained ever since. Some people lose their joy when tragedy strikes. They just can't get out from under their grief. Some people are too "smart" to embrace simple things with joy. Church communities become joy-less for a number of reasons too, but generally, they lose their joy because they forget what they're doing and why they're doing it. Their journey gradually becomes more and more about securing a "nest egg" and protecting traditions... and less and less about bold ministries and radical grace. Without vision and passion, churches come down with a disease that I call "Churchism"... which is a mindless coming and going, and a doing of things for no particular reason. The door is unlocked, the lights are on, the restrooms are clean, the choir is practicing, and somewhere in the building, a committee is meeting-but no one actually knows why! There is no dreaming. No questioning. And no one even expects God to show up on Sunday mornings!
The church leaders in Jesus' time did not find joy in the good news. They didn't get it. They couldn't, and they never would... because they had a fatal form of "Churchism." Whenever people quit dreaming and start controlling, whenever people are so tied to the status quo... that they can't see what God is doing in their midst, whenever a church worries more about the balance than the blessing, whenever people feel envious when someone else is celebrated, or offended when they see "too much" grace, whenever church elders come to believe that serving communion is just a "job," whenever church leaders refuse to welcome the very people whom Jesus sent to them, whenever the way things "used to be" outweigh the way things "can be" or "ought to be,"whenever people are ignored and dismissed because they don't "fit in," whenever you see things like these, you won't see much joy!
The question then is this: if Jesus showed up today with people who offended us, or if he asked too much of us, or created a stir that threatened our church order, would we be filled with joy... or would we take offense? Which is the stronger in our own community- our sense of Christ, or our sense of church?
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