“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.”
–Psalm 126
“This is where we plant our flag—on the continent of joy. We will not be removed from our native land, evicted from our house of ebullient jubilation.”
–Drew Jackson “Around Tables” God Speaks Through Wombs
If the gospel really is good news of great joy for all people, then what makes it joyful? Why not “good news of great impact” or “good news of great triumph”? Why joy?
And what actually is joy? Is it an emotion that comes and goes depending on our circumstances? Is it the same as feeling happy? Does it mean things always going our way? Glass half-full, sunny side of the street, everything turning up roses kind of stuff?
Psalm 126 tells a different story. Yes, it’s a picture of fortunes restored, of dreamers remembering while they giggle. “Look at the great things the Lord has done for us!” But it also holds a place for sorrow and tears. Sometimes we carry so much harvest home our arms are overloaded. But sometimes we carry nothing with us but tiny seeds to sow, seeds that will be watered, in hope, by our tears.
Joy can be there when we’re empty-handed as well as when we’re arms-loaded. Why? Because we’re not alone.
Did you catch the together language in Psalm 126? So many other psalms are single, solitary.
But in this psalm it’s we.
Our mouths.
Our tongues.
“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
Theologians and brain scientists alike agree that joy is social. Joy is what happens when I’m glad to see you. When lovers reunite after a long absence. When we’re gathered in warmth around the table together. Joy is what happens when Mary greets Elizabeth. When David dances in the presence of the Lord. When God comes to earth as Immanuel—God with us.
Today we’re making a shift to explore how the gospel is good news of great joy; this will be our theme for the next several days. Brothers and sisters, do we experience the gospel with joy? Do we know and encounter the joy of the presence of Jesus—God with us—in our daily lives? Do we know that joy in our sowing and our reaping, in our sorrows as well as our songs?
This is what the next part of our journey explores—the togetherness of the good news.
When the current Pope Francis wanted to write a book about evangelism, do you know what he called it? The Joy of the Gospel. Here’s a quote from how he opens the book:
“The JOY of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy…”
Pretty amazing right? Even more amazing is that American theologian Don Carson, founder of the Gospel Coalition, writes almost exactly the same thing in his devotional For the Love of God:
“As objective as is the truth of the Gospel that we proclaim, we proclaim it not only because it is truth, but because we ourselves have experienced its saving and transforming power. We therefore not only herald its truth, we also bear personal witness to it, to Jesus himself. We are not merely dispassionate heralds to certain objective events, we are disciples committed to making other disciples.”
I find it a minor miracle that these two living authors from different theological camps would agree on such a fundamental point: that the joy of the gospel is meant to be experienced, shared, and multiplied to others.
So may we know and experience the song-singing, mouths-laughing, arms-loaded joy of the good news in the days and weeks ahead!
Questions:
1) When have you experienced the joy of the gospel personally?
2) When have you known joy even in the midst of sorrow or pain?
3) What is it like for you to share joy with others in your context right now?
4) Who is the Spirit bringing to mind right now who could use an infusion of gospel joy in the weeks ahead?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darren and Pam Prince live in Whitechapel, London where they have served among asylum seekers, immigrants, and twelve-step recovery communities with London’s InnerCHANGE Team since 2007. Prior to that, they directed a ministry to homeless young people in San Francisco, California. Darren served as the InnerCHANGE General Director from 2014 – 2022 and is currently Novo’s Senior Vice President, shaping internal communications and organizational culture. Darren is passionate about making disciples, teaching the Bible, reading good books, befriending people on the margins, and sipping high quality coffee.