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Back to Sermon Index Recreating a Joy-Full Life A sermon by the Rev. Susan Manker-Seale "Let Religion be to us Life and Joy," begins the responsive reading by Unitarian Universalist minister Vincent Silliman. Joy! Religion as joy--What a concept! Silliman goes on to list many other things religion should be, but the one listed first, along with life, is joy. It may seem strange to some of us to think of religion as joy, or even of the basic meaning of life as joy. We are only a couple hundred years away from the religious dominance in our country of the Calvinists: those who preached with fear of the fire and brimstone of Hell and the slim likelihood that anyone might be chosen for salvation from this hellish life. To go to church was, in many ways, to go to Hell! The loving God of the Universalists and Unitarians was making headway, but slowly. Many religious congregations today still preach with fear as their basic motivation and underlying message, though the vast majority, I would guess, have embraced the concept of the loving god over the angry, jealous, resentful and unforgiving god. Perhaps god reflects the personalities of those who try to interpret the meaning of this life on earth. "Joy" is an interesting word. We don't use it very often in relation to our own feelings. We say we're happy; we might say we've jumped for joy; but when have we ever said we're joyful? Where is joy in our daily lives, and if it is really there, what does it look like? How can we reclaim a joyful life? The dictionary says that joy is "Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness." (Am. Herit. Dict.) What were you doing that last time you felt ecstatically or exultantly happy? We have moments: playing with babies is one that comes to my mind. I feel joy after having a really good time with good friends, laughing and joking and feeling a strong bond of community. I feel joy when my children laugh with us and share moments of insight and love. Oh, I remember the last time I jumped for joy was when the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series! That was definitely exultant happiness! Daily, though, there is another feeling that I wouldn't say was ecstatic or exultant happiness, but rather a peaceful, deep sense of contentment that is a sort of happiness that permeates my entire being, usually concerning gratitude for life in its vastness as well as its minutia, and this feeling I also call "joy." It transcends happy or sad. It encompasses all of life, and the rightness of being. For many of us today, though, joy might seem a stranger, or at least an infrequent visitor. Stress is a general condition of life in these days. We are out of balance, both in the numbers of hours we work vs. the time we spend with family and close friends, and we are out of balance in how we think we should spend our time, being busy, trying to catch up, doing and doing all the time. Even the retired folks I know complain about not having enough time: they fill their hours with so many activities that there is little adjustable or free time to just be, or even to respond in need. I'm making these observations based on what I've witnessed in people around me, and my own life, as well as basing it on the success of the self-help genre of books and the plethora of those sorts of titles on the tables in Barnes and Noble. Stress, and dealing with it, is one of the most popular topics today. Wow! What have we come to? Another piece of insight comes from Rev. Tom Owen-Towle's new book, Wholly Joy! Some of you might remember Tom from my installation here, when I invited him to give the sermon. He is co-minister, with his wife Carolyn, of the UU Church of San Diego. This book came out just last week and Tom mailed it to me right away when I called him and told him my sermon topic. Tom is talking about the pursuit of happiness as a driving goal of human existence, and yet, he writes:
Tom continues with a story:
As we enter the holiday season, I am aware of both the high level of stress with which many people enter into it, as well as the conflict of feelings brought on by holidays in general. Christmas is supposed to be a merry time, and yet, many people struggle with sad memories which make it difficult to appreciate a holiday that celebrates joy. I find it interesting to realize how many references there are to joy in our holiday carols. "Joy to the World" is one of our most popular carols, as well as a profound holiday wish for people everywhere. In Deck the Halls we "sing we joyous all together." In "Angels We Have Heard on High" we ask "Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer?" In "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" we end with "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Love to dwell." "O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant," we sing. "Love and joy come to you!" we wish for all those who open the doors to Christmas. Joy is a religious experience, not just one tied to Christmas. In the Hebrew Bible, joy is used to describe what is felt in god's presence. Psalm 92 exults that "It is a joy to give thanks to the Eternal…I sing for joy at all that thou hast done." It also says "This is the day that the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it." In Tom's book, Wholly Joy!, he writes that "The Koran and the Talmud, sacred books of Muslims and Jews, respectively, teach that we will be held accountable for every permissible pleasure life has offered us and that we have refused to enjoy during our earthly sojourn." (p. 24) Based on just these few references, it is definitely part of our Muslim, Christian, and Jewish heritage to experience joy as holy, as a response to the world as a gift from god. Joy is found the world over as a holy experience of life. The Dalai Lama, according to Tom, "claims that the meaning of life is simply 'To be happy and to make others happy.'" (p. 11) The Buddhist blessing called the Metta says:
The Upanishads say:
"Joy beyond sorrow." "Only the Whole is joy." These truths teach that joy is more than just being happy. Sorrow is necessary, unavoidable in life, and therefore, also an integral part of a joyful life. It is less what life deals us and more how we deal with life. Joy is a state of being we choose to cultivate, whatever our circumstances. Two ways are suggested for recreating or accepting joy in life. One is by being aware of and cherishing all of life, just as the wisdom literature of the ages teaches. Tom Owen-Towle tells a story in his book about appreciating the here and now, or living existentially:
Anyone who has experienced the death of someone close to them knows this truth: that anyone can die at any time, even ourselves. From this knowledge, it flows naturally that we learn to appreciate life from moment to moment, always aware that there are no guarantees, that all is impermanent. Another way to recreate or accept joy in life is to serve others in a way that we care deeply about. Knowing one's values and living them conscientiously is a way to find joy. Tom says this about service:
One of my favorite quotes is in our hymnal, by Mother Theresa. She said, "Love cannot remain by itself--it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing; a lifelong sharing of love with others." (562) We need to know what we love, what we care deeply about, and then work on that. Rabindranath Tagore described the connection between service and joy with these words: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." (p. 63) Helping others brings joy when one cares about one's efforts and is acting upon one's values. Connecting with others has a lot to do with living a joyful life. I love the way Tom puts it: "Human beings covet buddies." (p. 75) He quotes T. S. Elliot who describes "Hell as somewhere where nothing connects with nothing." We need to have our friends, to take time to be with those friends and family, and barring having those, we need to find ways to be around people, to serve people, so that connections might be started again. Whenever the holidays come around again, there is always the admonition to those who are alone or who fight loneliness and depression at this time of year to get out and be with others, to find ways to help others, to volunteer and participate in whatever activities are available rather than to hole up at home. Having buddies is a source of joy, just as bringing our values to life through service can bring joy to our hearts. Joy is a religious experience. It is a holy experience. At this time of year especially, we are reminded that joy is an ultimate experience. Joy to the world! we sing. Why, then, is it so hard to make time for something so cherished, so aspired to? Maybe it doesn't take so much time as a shift in perception. If we learn to appreciate the moments and the infinite wonders of life that surround us in each and every one of those moments, joy will rise from within like a fountain. Cultivating joy is a sacred activity. And it is already at your fingertips. As Tom Owen-Towle puts it, "The secret to the happy life is not to want one but to have one--yea, to be one." (p. 71) And remember to give thanks for all that is your life, for it is true as the Psalmist said, "It is a joy to give thanks to the Eternal." Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson |