Joy: In the Gospel
Put the Gospel First
Philippians 1:21-30
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. September 2oth, 2020
Early on in my ministry I knew a lady who was dying from bone cancer. It is such a painful illness. Her arm had swollen like a melon. But she didn’t complain, at least in front of me. She still faithfully made it to church, when she was able. She was still full of joy when I came to visit, and let me know she was ready for the Lord to take her. She had learned how to experience joy even in the midst of difficult pain. And when I was in seminary, I knew someone who had contagious joy with hardly anything to her name. She would go from church to church, participating in their activities, and praising God. Where does this experience of joy come from? How does one learn to “rejoice in the Lord always” as Paul says?
Paul, too, suffered. He boasts of his sufferings in 2 Corinthians (which was most likely written before Philippians), “five times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger form Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, though many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold, and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.” As he concludes Galatians he writes, “From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.” And yet Paul can write, “rejoice in the Lord, always.” He can tell the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of pay prayers for all of you.” Philippians is a letter full of Paul’s joy. A joy he wants the Philippians to share in, a joy he wants us to share in as well.
What is most remarkable about this joyful letter is he writes it from prison. And yet, “I will continue to rejoice.” A Roman prison was a harsh place. Prisoners often relied on family and friends to visit them with food and water because the portions given by the guard were too meagre. The shackles of the chains were locked so tightly they could cause ulcers. There was much else I’d rather leave to the imagination.
It’s no wonder that Paul might be thinking about his own death. He says, “for me living is Christ and dying is gain.” If he were to live it means fruitful labor with the saints of God. But if he were to die, it would mean the end of these momentary sufferings, the eternal joy of being with the Lord. But in it all he determines he would rather remain. “to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”
Paul is saying he has resolved to remain focused on his ministry with the Philippians and his other churches so that he may “continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith.” It is not actually a choice between suffering or joy for Paul. It’s a choice between joy in the midst of that suffering, or the consummation of joy in the heavenly kingdom. And he will take the joy in the midst of suffering, the privilege of sharing in Christ’s suffering, for the sake of those he loves. For the sake of those for whom Christ died. No matter what Paul will have joy.
What is this joy that Paul knows in the midst of suffering? What is this joy that is so great that he carries on? What is this joy that he makes known throughout this letter, and how may I know it? How may we know it?
When there’s someone you love, or even someone you have a lot of affection for, you feel joy even thinking about them. There is joy in receiving a letter, or a text, or a call. There’s joy in being together. The same sort of joy applies to God. Joy, for Paul and for the Bible, is not simply being really really happy. But it is being really really happy for a reason. It is the experience of intense happiness you have when you think on or are near someone you love. In this case joy that comes from knowing God and knowing the gospel.
Paul’s life is determined by God’s love for him, and his love for God. Paul is never concerned with how he looks, or how he’s dressed, or how people think of him, or what’s in his bank account at any given time. Those are fleeting pleasures, fleeting happiness. He isn’t even worried about whether he lives or whether he dies. There is one thing and one thing only that consumes him, one thing and one thing only that remains on his mind at all times: Christ and him crucified.
When Paul thinks about Jesus and what he did for us on the cross, when Paul thinks about Jesus and his resurrection, when Paul thinks about Jesus and the grace he bestows, he is overcome with joy. And he cannot help but tell other people about that joy. The joy of knowing Christ consumes him. So Paul always puts the gospel of Jesus first.
We can know the same joy because we can know the same Christ. When we truly know all that he has done for us, through his suffering, we can experience joy even in our suffering. Because we know that through suffering God works his love and grace. When we know what he has done for us, we will put the gospel first in our lives. That good news that Christ died for me, even for me. And putting the gospel first it puts all else in perspective.
John Wesley talked about this joy when he said he felt his heart strangely warmed. His famous Aldersgate Experience was the experience of joy. As John tells it he was spiritually depressed, despairing at his own perceived failure to grow in holiness. He knew the Bible spoke of joy in the Lord, and the experience of the Holy Spirit, but he did not know these things. He was invited to go to a prayer meeting with a group of Christians at Aldersgate one evening. He went even though he didn’t want to go. It was there that the worship leader read from Martin Luther’s preface to his translation of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. You might think that sounds like some bland reading, but when John Wesley heard the gospel proclaimed in that short preface he reported he felt his heart “strangely warmed” and that in that moment he knew “christ died for me, even for me.” In that moment he knew the joy that comes in knowing the Gospel, not as a fact but as a reality. Not simply that it happened, but to truly know deep in your bones. He grasped the meaning of the Gospel. And it set him on a new course.
The next few weeks we will continue through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We will continue to talk about gospel joy. The joy Paul knew. The joy we may know. And we will flesh out some of the things I’ve been saying today.