“Sounding Joy”

In the Name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.

Many of us—maybe most of us—have habits we wish we didn’t have. We think unwanted thoughts; we do unnecessary actions. We think these thoughts and perform these actions, again and again.
For example, before I go to bed at night, I set my alarm clock for the next day. Then, I proceed to check the various settings eight or ten times—sometimes more.

It’s good for me to be sure that the clock will wake me up at the correct time. But the efforts I put into this project are well beyond what’s needed. While repeated behaviors like this one are basically harmless, they’re still a waste of time.

Of course, not all habits are bad; some are to be welcomed. Think of the patient labors of the officers of the Salvation Army. Every year, during the weeks before Christmas, they stand in front of stores and stations and ring their bells.

Then, members of the Salvation Army use the donations they receive (and they get far more than any other charity in the country) to support other good habits. The officers maintain soup kitchens and shelters throughout the country. Day after day, they listen to sad stories while they try to order the chaotic lives of the poor.

As the Salvation Army’s work suggests, much of religion is about habits. And not only does faith lead us to good thoughts and deeds. It helps us to deal with really bad habits—what the Bible calls, “sin.”
Religion identifies these unhealthy thoughts and behaviors and it gives us ways to break the spell these patterns hold over us. What Christianity calls, “salvation” is nothing less than God giving us freedom from bad thoughts and harmful actions.

One important way that religion does this is by pushing us to adopt other habits that are good for us, like serving the poor.

The Prophet Isaiah reminds us in tonight’s first lesson about the value of a second religious habit: meditating on God’s blessings. As Isaiah says, God has “multiplied the nation,” God has “increased its joy.”

So the practice of religion ought to increase human happiness. When the angel announces the birth of Jesus to shepherds in the fields, he says, “I am bringing you good news of great joy.”

And, of course, a favorite Christmas carol is “Joy to the World.” This carol even has a wise verse about religious habits. The carol says: “Repeat the sounding joy.”

Could there be any better advice than this? “Repeat the joy so that it sounds in your heart.
 “You already know that if you think one good thought, more good thoughts are likely to follow. You know that if you do one good deed, more are likely to follow. Try the same thing with joy—make joy a habit.”
The problem with such advice is that it’s much easier to offer than to put into practice. Some of us, for example, have a tendency to feel sorry for ourselves. So we are more likely to “repeat the sounding sadness!”

Or we readily take offense when people criticize us. Then we spend hours “repeating the sounding insult.”
Bad thoughts flow into our minds and crowd out the good ones--so that the grim past blocks the arrival of a hopeful future. Bad habits fill the hours, and there’s no time left for productive life.

How, then, do we think good thoughts? How do we cultivate good habits? Well, we can begin by asking, what thoughts give us joy? What habits give us good feelings about ourselves?

When I’m having a disagreement with a friend, for example, and the argument becomes a kind of running sore that goes on for weeks until I’m so annoyed that I wonder if the friendship is worth preserving—in this case, I would do better to look for joy.

Instead of lettering the details of the conflict seep into my mind, I could recall my friend’s good qualities. I think of my friend’s sense of humor--the times my friend cheered me up when I was feeling down.

When I do this, I repeat remembered joy. I bring the healthy past back to life, and I remind myself why the friendship is worth preserving.

Another good habit is one we all know about: in secular terms, it is called, “savoring the moment.” When something good happens, I need to stop to think just how lucky I am.

Let’s say that I’ve had a pleasant and useful conversation with another friend of mine, and I’ve learned something new about myself. Instead of going on right away to whatever is next on my agenda, suppose that I take a break.

Rather than rush along to the next problem, suppose that I stop and let the good feelings sink in. I sit back and appreciate a relationship that, right now, is a blessing in my life.

Here’s a great way to do as the Prophet Isaiah suggests; here’s a way to “multiply” our joy. We let it reverberate in our hearts like a favorite tune.

When we do this, our habits don’t make us miserable--they help us to realize how much there is in our lives to be grateful for.

Now, admittedly, replacing bad habits with good is, for most of us, the project of a lifetime. Few people who make a New Year’s resolution to join a gym have the discipline to work out every single day in 2010!
In the same way, it takes time to learn to look for blessings. It’s an ongoing challenge to expect that life will give us joy.

Fortunately, as the Bible says, this joy does arrive. The same joy is offered to us that “resonated” through the centuries—the same joy that became incarnate in human flesh, in a manger.
When C. S. Lewis was converted to Christianity, he was overwhelmed by the experience. While he had been generally content with his life as a skeptical don, he had never felt so deeply happy. His autobiography is was entitled, Surprised by Joy, and in it, there is an unforgettable line about his feelings after his conversion. Lewis wrote: “I felt as if I were a man of snow at long last beginning to melt.”
The man of snow began to melt. A multitude of angels had opened the heavens for him. Joy had come to his world.

And joy has come to our world. God comes to us in his Son.

And God asks of us only one thing in return. He asks us to receive this Joy. To receive this Joy, until it sounds and resounds into the depths of our souls.

 And now unto that same God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion, and praise, now and forever. Amen.

And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.