Made for Joy

Preparing for the Third Sunday after Pentecost: Three Days before Sunday (Year A)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Old Testament: Genesis 21:1-7

Epistle: Hebrews 3:1-6

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 100

Old Testament: Exodus 4:18-23

Epistle: Hebrews 3:1-6

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Prayer

Through dreams and visions, O God, you broaden the horizon and hope of your people, that they may discover the meaning of your covenant, even in the midst of trial and exile. Increase the number of those who believe in your word so that all people may joyfully respond to your call and share in your promises. Amen.

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Reflection

The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age” (Genesis 21:1-7)

When C.S. Lewis says that “we were made for joy,” he is expressing the idea that human beings have an inherent longing and capacity for deep and lasting happiness. He suggests that joy is an essential aspect of our nature and that we are designed to seek and experience it. In Lewis’s Christian worldview, he believed that human beings were created by God with a purpose and that this purpose includes experiencing true joy. According to Lewis, this innate longing for joy is not satisfied by temporary or superficial pleasures but rather by a profound and meaningful connection with God.

Lewis writes,

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased (The Weight of Glory).

Lewis distinguishes between fleeting pleasures and the deeper, more profound joy that comes from aligning ourselves with God’s purpose and design. He suggests that the pursuit of worldly pleasures alone, such as material possessions or self-centered desires, will not ultimately fulfill our deepest longing for joy. Instead, true and lasting joy is found in a relationship with God and in living according to God’s intentions for us. For Lewis, the path to joy involves recognizing our innate longing, turning towards God, and seeking a transformative relationship with Him. He believed that when we align ourselves with God’s will and live in accordance with his love, we will experience a profound sense of joy and fulfillment that surpasses temporary pleasures.

In essence, Lewis’s statement suggests that joy is not merely a fleeting emotion or a byproduct of external circumstances, but rather a fundamental aspect of our nature that can be fully realized through a meaningful relationship with God. It is an invitation to seek a deeper and more transcendent form of happiness that goes beyond the temporary pleasures of the world.

PRAYER: Creator God, you call us to love and serve you with body, mind, and spirit through loving your creation and our sisters and brothers. Open our hearts in compassion and receive these petitions on behalf of the needs of the church and the world.

Holy One, hear our prayers and make us faithful stewards of the fragile bounty of this earth so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven. Amen.

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