Rejoice

Sunday, December 13, 2015                                                            Philippians 4:4-9

Donovan Drake

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

Obviously, Paul has not had an opportunity to sit in holiday traffic. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.”

Paul has never been put on hold by Comcast customer service. Paul has never had to deal with your Facebook “friend” who continues to post things that suggest we, “Be mean to each other always, again, I say be mean.” “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Come on Paul. Get real.

The problem with Paul is that he is real. He writes from a prison cell, and there’s nothing about a prison cell that says “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice”. But, for Paul the prison is not all bars and chains. He is not alone. He is with Christ. He is with the Church. In fact, he can’t decide betwixt the two. Whether to go on and be with Christ or to stay and be with the church. I don’t know what makes him think he gets to choose, but either way he finds his joy. ALWAYS.

He sees himself as part of the grand sweeping narrative that was “in the beginning of time and will go on when we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright and shining as the sun.” So, as unusual as it is to think of anyone rejoicing in the Lord always, it isn’t that unusual for anyone who knows Paul. Paul, who thinks often of the Church.

Paul thinks of the people who do whatever is “true, honorable, just pure, pleasing, commendable and praiseworthy.” Paul finds that in the worst of times, there are gentle people who do the Lord’s work. These “things” give him joy and peace. These “things” give God joy and peace. These “things” is what we’re all about. Rejoice!

Prayer:  Holy God, In times when life is less than holy, help us to think about “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise.” Help turn our thoughts into actions and may we experience your peace. Amen.