March 4, 2021
John 15:10-11, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Jesus unveils yet another reason to keep his commandments: for your joy. Jesus makes sure we know that he is being obedient to the Father, and he would obey perfectly, without any sin at all. We will not have that kind of success, but we should strive to obey the Lord and repent of our sins when we fall short. We should not think of our lives of obedience, however, as lives of drudgery. To obey God’s law is not to be restricted, but to be set free. Think of the relationship between parent and child: a parent tells the child to not run into the busy street, not because he wants to restrict the freedom of that child, but because he or she wants the child to be able to play freely. What if God thinks of us in the same way? We are children who are running into the street all the time: for gratifications, for pride, for rebellion, or because we think we know how to navigate winding roads in a pretty sophisticated fashion. God is saying to us: don’t do it - do not give in to temptation and sin, don’t go your own way, do not go the way of the world - and that isn’t to put a clamp on your freedom - it’s to prevent you from being enslaved to sin.
Augustine said a long time ago, “Obey the commands of God and then do whatever you want to do.” In God’s law you can hold jobs, have deep, meaningful relationships, love people unconditionally, eat amazing food, serve with splendor, laugh at great jokes, encourage a loved one, take in a ballet, try ice skating, learn a new language… and it goes on and on and on. The world is your oyster, as they say, and yet we tend to do is say, no Lord, I want to swim in my own pond, I will abide by my own rules. God knows what is best for us and is just trying to protect us. Count it joy that God gives us his commands, because he loves us. And then in grateful appreciation, live a life full of contagious joy.
Prayer: My God, my joy, my strength, my song - help me to recapture an imagination that is open to your guidance. Help me to see a world that you have made whose boundaries that you have set are for the good of man and not for his oppression. Help me to trust your law in that way. And let me live a life of joy because of your loving kindness and for the salvation that I have in Christ Jesus. Amen.
40 Days of Joy: This is the first known recording of the human voice, from 1860 in France. It’s a child singing “Claire de Lune.” It’s a little scratchy, but so cool to hear a voice from that long ago. https://www.openculture.com/2019/07/hear-the-first-recording-of-the-human-voice-1860.html
