Joy

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

Finding a topic for this week's blog has been a struggle. This page was designed to report on activities at the church, but, as we all know, activities at the church are limited due to the pandemic. So, I thought and prayed and cudgelled my empty brain. As the deadline approached I noticed that "joy" kept coming into my conscience.

Dotted about my house are mementos of my birthday. Nothing like having your date announced in the church letter to bring lots of good wishes. So I have flowers and gifts and cards displayed in prominent places to remind me of the joy of life, of friendship, of family, and congregation. In the midst of fog and rain, joy pokes holes* in the gloom. BTW, say happy birthday to Valerie this week.

Then I was listening to the radio and the announcer spoke of a musician he greatly admired. He talked of her solid technique, her imaginative artistry, her beautiful sound, but what made her memorable and exciting for him was the joy she brought to her music. There's that word again.

Rev. Irwin plans to begin Bible study in the near future and, keener that I am, I've already bought the book, Celebration of Discipline, the path to spiritual growth, by Richard J. Foster. Discipline sounds like a hard task, a heavy undertaking, a joyless endeavour. Yet, the second page of the introduction has this sentence. "Joy is the keynote of all the Disciplines."

C.S. Lewis titled his autobiography Surprised by Joy. In it he relates how he passed from Atheism to Christianity. Joy was a constant in his Christian life.

I just realized that the title of this week's solo was "Song of Joy," by John Ness Beck and based on Psalm 40.

So, while I struggled to find something to say this week, I had only to open my eyes and my ears and my heart to be surprised by joy. I wish the same revelation for you over the next seven days.

*Robert Louis Stevenson as quoted by Rev. Irwin.