“The Joy of the Lord”
Psalms 84:1-4
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-12
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I suspect the old adage still rings true.

If we were to form a large circle in this sanctuary and then asked to toss our problems, worries, anxieties and fears into the middle and then instructed to pick up one we would probably head straight for our own.

This week I have found my thoughts fixated in three areas. The first being the plight of the people found in the Nehemiah reading…The exiled. Then I have been unable to take my mind off the devastating events in Haiti. And lastly, I have struggled with what all this has to do with us.
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In order to appreciate the message found in Nehemiah today we must understand where the Israelites are standing when they were told that the “joy of the Lord” was their strength. After 70 years of exile in a foreign land with a foreign language and culture they now find themselves home in Jerusalem. The walls of their great city had just been rebuilt. But still something was missing. For you see life is more than just bricks and mortar. Even after the walls were repaired their lives were still in shambles.

Over those 70 years they had forgotten their spiritual heritage while being held captive in a strange land. They had forgotten their native language, but most of all they had forgotten God. Then something rather miraculous happens. Ezra, the scribe, stands above them on a wooden platform and reads to them the Words of God. They were all together as one people in the square and Ezra brought out the Book of Moses and began reading to them.

The people’s eyes were opened once again, through the clear and distinct sharing of God’s Word that God has not forsaken them. Jeremiah had prophesied the very destruction they had experienced. And yet, in the same breath Jeremiah gives them a promise that their mourning will turn into a Morning of JOY!

What a relevant message of care and hope God’s word reveals. The book of Nehemiah makes known the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophesy. There lives, after 70 long years of upheaval has found a leveling off place where the Joy of the Lord has made them strong.
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And then we turn to Haiti. In an instant the foundation under this fragile nation shifts and all hell breaks loose. It is a situation that haunts me…one that is truly beyond my comprehension. Some estimates have the death toll at 200,000 and rising. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere has just suffered a catastrophic event. It is enough to drive one into deep despair. It is more than enough to make all of us question our faith and our resolve.

And then a seven year old is pulled out of the rubble after 10 days with arms raised on high. Is it a sign of hope? I think it is! But where is the Word of God for these people?

Certainly it is not the condemning words proclaimed by Pat Robinson that the people of Haiti got what they deserved sense they were involved in Voodoo! No joy in those words! No strength offered here!

The Word of God is found in Haiti in the world community’s compassionate response to such suffering. It has been an outpouring of good will and love. It is slowly demonstrating to the beautiful people of Haiti that they matter. It is a witness to them that God cannot be defeated and ultimately their walls, too, will be rebuilt, their lives, too, will be renewed, their hope, too, will ride the rising tide of compassion. The Word of God became flesh…in rescue teams, doctors and dogs, medicine and water……and much more!

Isn’t it amazing how the resources are available when our wills are connected to the will of God. Sad, isn’t it, that it often takes a tragedy, an emergency, a catastrophe to open the bars of our hearts.

It is my prayer that the people of Haiti’s will also, someday, be able to hear the words of God from Nehemiah….”Go you way now, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to those for whom nothing has been prepared, for this day is Holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (PAUSE)
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So, what does all this have to do with us?

Earlier this week Celeste and I found ourselves in a gorgeous three story beach house in Port Aransas. The luxurious surroundings became even more luxurious as we turned on the very large flat screen TV to face the pain and agony of the Haitian people and the heroic work of those who have arrived to lend a hand.

At first glance, it would appear that Nehemiah only has a word for those who have been in exile for seventy years or for those whose entire lifetime has been mired in abject poverty. It would be easy to dismiss it as a text meant for someone else. It would be easy to dismiss it because to even stop to consider any suffering we might have encountered next to that of those exiles and slaves is almost laughable.

And yet, The JOY of the LORD becomes our strength as we realize that we can only come to God from where we are. I know from my own life and from many of yours that the very foundations of our lives have been shaken by death, suffering, homelessness, depression, fear, paranoia, abuse and much more.

So what is this JOY of LORD! Why is it so hard to experience? Why do we often see such joy in folks who have so little and so much stress in those that live the so-called abundant life?

You see, my friends, Jesus’ JOY was in knowing that he was always in the very center of God’s will and heart. Jesus knew that God’s plan for eternity would be fulfilled and that nothing could thwart it. Jesus’ desire was that his Joy would become ours so that we, too, might have the same assurance and that our joy would be complete as we allow ourselves to be transformed by the never ending love of God.

Somehow, some way we must come to comprehend that we are made strong to live faithful and obedient lives when we tap into this Joy of the Lord. Our JOY CAN INCREASE as we grow deeper in the assurance that we, too, are in the center of God’s will and heart. But for our joy to be complete, we need to receive his joy that carries an assurance that God’s plan for eternity goes beyond anything we can achieve on our own. As with every other aspect of our Christian lives, in order to live in the fullness that God intends for us, we need to receive the power and grace that takes us beyond OUR selves, OUR abilities, OUR strengths and tap into the strength of the Lord.

So, I would suggest that we scrap ANY notion that that says; we can’t and begin to trust that God CAN. God can transform our way of thinking. God can move us to new places of generosity. God can remove any hatred or animosity we might feel toward another. God can… and God desires …to give us the strength we need to face whatever morass we must wade through.

You see, my dear friends, Joy is the source of much happiness but it is something much deeper and has much more to do with peace than happiness.

An unknown author once wrote: Joy is Peace dancing, Peace is Joy resting!

The very connection we have with those exiled from their lands for 70 years, or the many refugees learning ESL in this very building, and the people of Haiti is that such joy cannot be captured it must be experienced.

We are connected by our common humanity. We are connected by our human frailty. Yes, each of us will fall to our knees from the weight of the cross we carry but sooner or later we have to get up and dance to the resurrection!!!

I pray for that resurrection day for the people of Haiti, for the refugees who still have to flee their war torn world seeking safe harbor, and for each of us in our own life struggles. May all experience the Joy of the Lord… our very strength and salvation.