so that our joy may be complete!

Jesus said that he had told us about God’s love and our connectedness with God so that Jesus’ joy could be in us and our joy complete? [John 15:11] The Psalm set for today, 98, encourages all people and the whole of the earth, to praise God with much joy for his loving faithfulness. Many Psalms talk about enjoying God and ourselves.

But “Jesus’ joy”, where does THAT idea come from? Here we have Jesus saying that he has said these things so his joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete. [John 15:11] Is there a hint anywhere in what we have read or what we have been told, that Jesus enjoyed himself? Sure we know Jesus did good, but according to the Gospels which are the only source we have, he was continuously criticising the religious leaders and the impression we have is of someone who took life very seriously. The way we have heard the Bible read has never suggested any joy even when Jesus healed people or turned water into wine. Could he have been enjoying himself, being light-hearted, when he walked on the water? One could wonder if seriousness and joy are mutually exclusive.

...As we come to know God more through our friendship with Christ, may the love and joy in us so that the desire to judge will fade and more can come to know Love and Joy in all their fullness.

Rev Julianne Parker

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Only one thing

Too much smug,

ticket-to-heaven thinking,

(I nearly called it theology),

in the fundamentalist roots

that many of us share. But,

says gospel-writer John

and those who appropriated his name

in later letters, there is only one thing

by which we are made friends

of Jesus.

If the proof is in the eating,

then the fruits are surely

in the doing, the listening,

and the obeying of the commandment.

The agápē word was spoken often

and enacted on more than one occasion

by the man who embodies

self-giving, generosity and compassion.

This utterance at the centre

of his living,

and translated into our language,

has become so tired

that I am reluctant to employ it.

Made a cliché,

the word spills effortlessly

from undiscerning lips,

and only occasionally finds expression

through committed hands

and outraged hearts.

But, it seems to me,

this one thing alone causes God,

(however she is conceived),

to smile;

only one thing.

© Ken Rookes 2012