The fullness of joy
May 25, 2023 - Thursday, Seventh Week of Easter
Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-11
There is a Christian hymn that took its title from the last verse of Psalm 16: “In His Presence is the Fullness of Joy”. The psalmist declares that in God’s presence, there is the fullness of joy but it is not so easy to find genuine joy in our world. Henry David Thoreau is famous for saying that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" and Pope Paul VI wrote that “technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy”. Are these statements valid and if so then what could the causes of our contemporary despair be?
I am always impressed with Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Written from prison, it is the most joyous letter of the apostle. The apostle did not know whether he could get out of that prison dead or alive and yet he writes to his addressee: “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). Should not prisons and solitary confinement be the most depressing places in our societies? And yet we find not just Saint Paul but many Christians over centuries finding joy amid tragedies and sufferings. On the other hand, the most advanced and rich societies in our world experience a growing epidemic of depression. We even hear about bishops and priests resigning from their ministry due to severe depression.
Billy Graham once visited a certain place and met there a rich and poor person. The rich man owned vast properties and lived in a mansion, the other man was a missionary living a simple life among the poor. Yet, the rich man was bitter about his life and the other man radiated with joy. Why? Are we not told that money can make us happy? Should those who are successful by worldly standards not radiate with joy? And yet life experiences tell us that the most miserable people are those living in posh places. Freddie Mercury amassed a fortune for his songs and yet in an interview before his death he said that he felt lonely. A man who had millions of fans around the globe admitted that he lacked in life “a loving, ongoing relationship”.
Billy Graham said that his greatest joy came from talking to and hearing from Christ and his regrets were related to the usage of time: he should have spent more time with his family and in prayer conversing with the Lord. When I reflect upon my missionary life, I realise that we often are so busy working for the Lord that we forget about the Lord. And in the process, we are drained of energy and lose joy. Saint Paul made it clear that joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit and Jesus speaks about His joy that can fill our hearts (Gal 5:22; John 15:11). And so, perhaps the reason our contemporary society is plagued with depression and despair lies in our drifting away from the Lord. The Christian hymn that I mentioned above asks this question: “Would you have the morning gladness filling both your life and heart?” Who would not like to have such gladness? And so, we are invited to give ourselves to Jesus and to get our guilt wash away. “For the joy that pardon brings is brighter than the dawn of day”. Will you come to Christ to find joy in him?