Giggle, laugh, jovial jumbles. It is that serendipitous moment when the funny bone is activated and resonates. Now we all laugh at times, usually when something is funny or embarrassing, or we hear a good joke. But I am talking about that light-hearted celebration of laughter that seems to spring from a space beyond where exuberance flows like oxygen. Parker had a way of giggling when he was about a year old. His cute and innocent laughter became infectious and I too was transported to a place of sheer joy and laughter. The beauty of this is when it happened, everyone around was elevated by his whimsical giggles. Now it might have started with peek a boo or hearing a funny sound, but once he got going there was no stopping him, not that you would want to. Parker shared his happiness with everyone! I have since seen similar moments on YouTube- so there must be something pure and enchanted about these baby laughter moments when joy is so exquisitely expressed.
Every time I recall Parker’s sweet and funny giggles I experience that joy again. My heart is lightened, and my spirit is encouraged by the childlike revelry. In a way, I am re-joicing- feeling again the moment of joy. To rejoice is defined as “feeling or showing great joy or delight,” or to be full of joy. Yet I do like to think of it in that touchstone moment when joy is transported through time to touch your soul again. Think back to a moment of joy in your life, a time when the colors shone brighter, the air tasted crisper, joy filled your body and soul. You are celebrating with friends or centered in your own peace. As you breathe in you are reliving the joy. You are rejoicing!
Paul declares, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice!” Remarkably Paul is in prison while writing this. Prison walls and loss of freedom do not discourage him, for his faith brings him great joy. He is reminding the Christians in Philippi, the ones he truly loves and who bring him great joy, to rejoice in the Lord always. He is rejoicing, reliving the joy Paul found in sharing his faith with this the first Christian community. They are the ones who first supported his mission of Christ. They are the ones whose joy was made complete by sharing their meager resources to support the spread of the gospel and Paul’s mission. These early Christians know the joy of giving; the delight in sharing what God has given so that Christ can be proclaimed. So naturally he asks them to help these two women- Euodia and Syntyche- because this congregation knows the joy of giving.
Christmas is fast approaching. We have much shopping to do and many presents to wrap. I will confess I have not started at all. Of course we will give and receive gifts. Have you ever felt like the best gift you ever received was the joy you experienced in giving? The joy of experiencing another’s delight as your gift was opened? You found great joy in watching a loved one open a perfect gift, an unexpected surprise, or heartfelt love offering and you are transported in delight, reveling in joy. That is the joy of giving! That is the place from which we give to our God. I bet God felt that way when he gave us the gift of his son, an innocent baby, filled with joy and laughter, so that we might know God’s love.
God’s gift keeps on giving. God allowed his Son to die on the cross so that you and I live in the joy of forgiveness and grace. So that you and I have eternal life. So that you and I can live in joy no matter what befalls us.
The joy of giving for us as Christians is a promise to God – an outward sign of and inward commitment to the one who loves us more than life itself. It is the joy of putting Christ first and watching God reorder our lives because we have said “YES” to God. We have said you are important to me and I love you God. Thank you for loving me so completely with your Son who is my Savior. Joyful giving comes when we rejoice in the moments of God’s love, of Christ’s mercy and our soul is filled again with the joy of our relationship with Christ.
The joy of giving is part of joyful living. Allowing God’s grace and joy to be in your being, trusting in God even when you feel locked away from life, having an exuberance from knowing Jesus Christ; all part of joyful living. Giving of our time, our talents and our resources can be infectious like laughter and become so necessary it is like the oxygen we breathe. We know that God is near and rejoice in that reality and so we give. We make a joyful noise to the Lord and break forth in joyful song. Remembering praise brings us into relationship with God. Rejoicing that our acts of praise, worship, singing, liturgy and especially communion connect us to each other and Christ. Praise forms our community of faith. So I request your support for this church and Christ’s mission. I ask you to share your commitment and place it in the wheelbarrow by November 8, Dedication Sunday. For some that might be the new song you are called to sing- a new pledge of support to Christ. It might be the new gift God is giving you in this moment of your faith journey, so that you might joyfully give.
Joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God gives us the gift of joy to help us live well with God. Joyful giving is our response to our maker for all the blessings we have so graciously received. Joyful living is our complete union of God and Christ. Imagine sitting around a Christmas tree with beautiful presents all wrapped up. Each one is a gift from God to you, a gift from the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace and patience are all individually wrapped in red and gold. Kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are boxed up in silver and green. How will God feel when you open your gift of Joy? AMEN.
