WHY JOY?
A sermon by George R. Pasley
Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-11
“Jesus left them and was taken up into heaven…and they returned to
Why joy, why praise?
Jesus left them, and they were happy. They praised God.
When someone we love dies, we say the words that help us hang on: we say they’re with God. We know they’ve gone to heaven to live. But even so, it’s pretty much of a stretch to say we’re filled with great joy.
That’s because we prefer the flesh and blood friend to the one who’s dancing in heaven.
Jesus died, and they were traumatized.
Jesus rose from the dead and they were confused and bewildered.
Jesus provided many convincing proofs that he was indeed alive- including showing his scars and eating real food.
So, they had their friend back and that had to be, well, unimaginable.
But then he left and it seems not to have mattered!
That’s all in Luke, chapter 24, the last nine verses of the gospel.
Those verses point to the next book Luke wrote for Theophilus, (literally, “Friend Who Loves God) Acts, which begins with a different account of the story of the ascension.
But they also point to the early scenes of Luke’s gospel- chapter two.
There, in the Temple- the place where the disciples went to praise God in chapter 24- two elderly members of the congregation of Israel were waiting to see the Christ.
One, Simeon, had been led their by the Holy Spirit.
The other, Anna, spent all her time there.
Both of them were waiting for the redemption of
Both of them trusted the promises of God.
Neither one was disappointed, even though neither one would live to hear him teach, or to see him crucified, or to witness his resurrection. They were not disappointed, for they held and blessed the baby who would be the completion of God’s promise.
So Luke 24 points ahead, to Acts, to Pentecost, to the coming of God’s Spirit in power.
But it points back, to two faithful senior citizens, worshipping and praising God and trusting in the promises of God while they wait.
Worship, joy and praise.
Worship, joy and praise.
They are the beginning of a circle, and the circle’s end.
God’s saving work starts with them, and it will end with them.
But in between- oh my goodness!
In Luke, in between worship, joy and praise there is controversy, suffering and crucifixion.
And in Acts, after the Spirit comes with power, the disciples are led into jail, into suffering and persecution, into martyrdom.
In fact, let’s stop and consider that word- martyrdom. Both the Gospel lesson and the Acts passage used the word.
Didn’t hear it though, did you? Here’s why: Martyr is a Greek word, a word that when translated into English becomes “witness.”
In Luke, Jesus told the disciples they had witnessed his suffering, death and resurrection.
In Acts, Jesus told the disciples that after they received the Holy Spirit they would be his witnesses.
They had seen what he did, and they would go and tell what they had seen. But what we know is this: The witness given by the church- by the faithful who worshipped Jesus and offered praise to God- that witness would be given at the price of life, a price so costly that the very meaning of the word would be changed forever.
Prior to the first century of the faith, the word martyr simply meant, witness. After that, it meant someone who had given their life, in order to share their faith.
But it began with worship, joy and praise on the day that Jesus was lifted into the clouds.
Worship, joy and praise- where do they come from?
Consider them a dance. Worship joy and praise are a dance between human beings and God.
We do them, that’s clear- but we couldn’t do them without a partner, a partner that fills us with joy, a partner that we love, a partner that fills us with hope and in whom we place our trust.
That partner is God.
Simeon and Anna in the
The disciples in
They had a partner that they knew, and their knowledge of that partner enabled them to worship, to be joyful, and to praise.
What did they have from the partner that brought out the joy and the praise?
They had a promise, they had a down payment on the promise, and they had instruction
Simeon and Anna had a promise of redemption and consolation, and they were given an eight-day-old child.
The disciples were given a Resurrection, a fulfilled promise that was not understood when it was made, startling when it was received, and only finally understood. But wow, what a gift!
But they were given two promises: God would send them a gift, the Holy Spirit. Jesus would come back.
Having experienced the proof of God’s abilities, they believed what God now promised.
With that much, they could easily obey the instruction to wait. But while they were waiting, they could hardly contain themselves. So they worshiped, and they sang praise.
They danced with God. But here’s something else: worship and praise, things that we give to God- they are the way that God gives us hope and faith.
Fred Craddock tells this story about joy and praise- he gives them the name, Doxology.
He says Doxology was an idea that he carried with him from time to time.
He carried Doxology to the family dinner table, and each family member shared their joys for the day. Doxology seemed appropriate there.
He carried Doxology with him as he went on his errands one day. He laughed at a child trying to eat an ice cream cone before it melted, and that laughter was Doxology, a dance with God.
He studied the face of a homeless man looking into a jewelry store window, and he wondered if the man were hoping- or remembering. That wonder was Doxology, a dance with God.
He went to a hospital, to visit a dying woman, and he made Doxology stay in the car. In fact, because Doxology wanted to go with him, he locked Doxology in the car.
In the hospital he skirted the subject of death, but his dying patient raised the subject.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I know, and I have worked it through. God has blessed me with a wonderful family, good friends and much happiness. I am grateful. I do not want to die, but I am not bitter.”
And then she prayed while her pastor held her hand.
Back at the car Doxology asked Fred, “Should I have been there?”
Of course, Doxology HAD been there, dancing with the dying patient. So Fred took Doxology with him when he went on vacation. Life was good, and Fred and his family danced with God.
When the vacation was over, Fred took Doxology to work with him, teaching at the seminary. But something happened on that very first day.
Fred got a phone call. His brother had died, quickly, unexpectedly, of a heart attack.
So Fred stayed busy. After all, there were many things to do.
Call his family, make travel plans, cancel other commitments, arrange for substitutes.
He and his wife drove all night long. They traveled in silence, except to ask questions about life and death that neither of them could answer.
Then they came to his brother’s house, and prepared themselves- braced themselves- to greet his brother’s widow.
She came out of the house and to the car to greet them, and before either of them had said a word, she asked, prayed actually, “I hope you brought Doxology with you…”
Well, Fred had not thought about Doxology that whole long trip. But standing there in the valley of the shadow of death, he knew that Doxology was the one thing they needed, the one thing that would get them through whatever was to come.
“Without Doxology,” Fred says, “we might as well be dead.”
Worship, joy and praise. They are a dance we do, and they are wrapping for gifts of hope and faith.
They may be hard, but they are a great way to live.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
