14th December 2014

Be Joyful In Good Times and Bad
Gaudete Sunday with its call, “to be joyful” begins to turn our attention towards the celebration of Christmas. Being “joyful” was one of the hallmarks of the early Christians: it was how even their enemies saw them. It’s something that remained even during times of dreadful persecution. What was their secret? They simply praised God for EVERYTHING. Whatever happened in their lives, whatever they received, they gave thanks and praised God for. This was truth, both for good things and bad. On the surface this may seem odd, yet it reflects a deep faith and trust in God. That he is in control and so all will be well. At the heart of this is that as Christians we give thanks and praise God for something truly terrible: the suffering and death of his Son. Yet it was in and through this event that God revealed his true nature and power. That the Father’s love and mercy is far greater than any sin. It was their deep faith and trust in this power of God, that as St Paul said, ‘Everything works for God, with those who love God’, that made them so joyful in good times and bad.

We can see an example of this in the ancient Chinese story of old farmer who had a horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

We might not know, but God does which is why we can be joyful and give thanks and praise for everything. He is in control.