- Chained Like a Criminal
“Remember Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote, “raised from the dead... That is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal.”
Every so often, when I read Bible passages like this, I pause, and I try to imagine: What was it like?
What was it like, to be Paul, so confident in the good news that he let nothing get in the way of its proclamation?
What was it like, to be Paul, and to suffer on account of that gospel? ...to have been tried in court, and sentenced to beatings, and lashings, and stoning, and imprisonment? ...to be imprisoned, “chained like a criminal”? ...to have endured long journeys, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, hunger, nakedness, and constant worry about the fate of the churches he worked with and helped establish?
And how - in the face of such hardships - did Paul maintain his confidence, his hope, his joy?
In the midst of all his setbacks and suffering, how is it that Paul remained so happy?
I don’t know about you, but sometimes it doesn’t take much for me to find myself in a funk. If the plans I have for my day off don’t work out, or if I go to the store and they’re out of my favorite brand of cereal, or if someone gets mad at me for something that really wasn’t my fault (or maybe it was), I find my mood turned sour, and have to work hard for several hours, or maybe even the rest of the day, to bring myself back up.
And I start to wonder about what would happen if I faced the sort of real hardships Paul faced… could I draw upon some reserve of confidence or hope or joy to get me through?
Or would all hope be, literally, lost?
- Brian
I’ve worked at many summer camps over the years, with a great many fellow camp counselors. Many years ago at one camp, one of the counselors I worked with was Brian.
Brian was permanently confined to a wheelchair. Echoing Paul, one could say Brian was chained to his wheelchair, although Brian certainly wouldn’t have put it that way, and he certainly wouldn’t have wanted your pity.
But there were times when I’d wonder: did he ever feel bitter about being confined to a wheelchair?
If he ever did, you wouldn’t know it. Brian could fly around camp in his wheelchair. The paths at camp were dirt, but they were mostly level, and Brian’s arms were strong. He could even hop down and sometimes even up small stairs.
Brian worked at the camp pool. He didn’t need his wheelchair in the pool. In the pool, he was free from the
limitations placed on him by having to rely on a wheelchair.
I think there is a part of each of us, if we’re honest, that thinks we would lose some happiness, if something we took for granted was suddenly taken away from us.
The ability to walk. The ability to see, or hear. The ability to be independent.
And actually, many of us have experienced something like that, either permanently or temporarily, as a result of life, of loved ones passing, or of our own aging.
In the face of it all, how can we stay happy?
I never heard Brian complain about being in a wheelchair. It made me wonder how I could find happiness if some major part of my life was taken away…
Which brings me back to Paul.
What can Paul teach me - teach us - about finding happiness when there seems to be no reason to be happy?
- Happiness
Before I go any further, let’s talk about what happiness is.
We often think of happiness as an “in-the-moment” emotion. If something good is happening in the present moment, something that brings us pleasure, we say we are happy. If something bad is happening in the present moment, something that brings us displeasure, we say we are unhappy.
That kind of happiness is fleeting.
That kind of happiness is dependent on external factors over which we have no control.
But when Paul talks about being happy…
When the Bible talks about being happy…
When the psalms say “Happy are those who…”
When Jesus says “Happy are they who…”
...It’s a different kind of happiness that is being described. It’s a more permanent, lasting type of happiness, one that doesn’t depend on what is happening in any given moment.
Which is kind of obvious when you think about it, right? Because obviously, Paul’s happiness (and joy and hope) did not depend on his present circumstances. Paul’s happiness was a happiness that was cultivated, developed and strengthened so that it could endure through any difficulty or setback.
That’s what Thich Nhat Hanh was talking about in our first reading. He and other spiritual leaders and mystics have observed that we often label any given thing that happens to us as either good or bad, and we adjust our happiness level accordingly.
But what these deep thinkers tell us is that very little of what happens to us is good or bad in and of itself. Good or bad are labels that we attach to them. For example, we’ve attached the label “good” to money. Money makes us happy. We say otherwise - we say, oh, money can’t buy happiness - but for some reason that doesn’t stop us from trying to earn as much money as we can.
But studies show that it’s true, that greater wealth does not equal greater happiness, at least not once you reach a certain level. When it comes to happiness, it does help to have a certain basic level of income, so that you can meet your basic needs and perhaps have a little extra for enjoyment. But beyond that, money really won’t make you any happier.
And for people like the apostle Paul, even when he had no money, he was able to be happy.
- Naaman
Consider Naaman.
Naaman’s story appears in the book of 2 Kings, which describes Naaman as “the commander of the army of the king of Aram, a great man and in high favor with his master.”
That should have made Naaman happy. But Naaman suffered from a skin disease the Bible calls leprosy. And because he had leprosy, Naaman was not happy.
Fortunately for Naaman, the prophet Elisha lived nearby, and God gave Elisha the power to heal. All Naaman
had to do to be healed was go see Elisha.
So Naaman set out to Elisha’s house, with his horses
and his chariots… People who saw him pass by with his horses and chariots could see that he was a wealthy and powerful man, and thought to themselves, “Well, isn’t that the life?
If only they knew…
And Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house…
And Elisha sent out a messenger to tell Naaman that all he had to do was go wash himself in the Jordan River seven times, and he’d be healed.
Sounds pretty easy to me. No co-pay, no referral, no follow-up appointments… just wash seven times in the Jordan River, and be healed.
But Naaman was upset. He was expecting something more. After all, Naaman was an important, wealthy, powerful person. Why couldn’t Elisha himself have come out to greet him? And what was wrong with the rivers back in Naaman’s home of Damascus?
Naaman stormed off in a rage.
It’s almost as if Naaman was determined to be unhappy. The solution to his problem was so simple, so easy, but he was determined to be unhappy.
We’re not immune to that tendency. Pride gets in the way of our pursuit of happiness. Envy gets in the way, when we compare our situation to the situation of others. We stubbornly hold on to our bitterness, rather than taking responsibility for our own happiness. Like Naaman.
Naaman stormed off in a rage, but fortunately he had some servants who talked some sense into him. “It’s a simple thing that you have to do. Would you have rather wished he told you you had to do something extremely difficult in order to be healed? Would you rather not be healed at all? Come on… just go wash!”
So Naaman did, and he was healed.
- Cultivate Happiness
Like Naaman, we all need someone to talk some sense into us. However, happiness won’t come to us overnight.
Like anything else, finding happiness in difficult circumstances is a discipline, and it must be practiced. It’s not like lighting a match and *poof* instant happiness. It’s more like cultivating a garden, day after day, and patiently watching happiness grow.
How do people cultivate happiness?
There is more than one answer to that question. But for Paul, the top answer was:
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead.”
Remember, during our New Beginnings conversations, when we talked about finding our “why?” This was Paul’s “why.” Jesus Christ, raised from the dead.
In Jesus Christ, we have a “good news” that is able to outlast any bad news the world can throw at us. We have a hope that can outlast anything.
Remember: the good news isn’t that life will be easy, and that you’ll never have any worries or hardships. That is not what is promised to us.
Because life is not always easy. Sometimes life sucks, as Paul knew too well.
But we have a God who works through Christ to bring wholeness to our lives, and wholeness to the world.
And we have a calling to share the good news, and to be a movement for wholeness in our neighborhood and in our world.
And no matter how bad things are, every moment can be made just a little bit better if can show love to ourselves and love to our neighbor.
It doesn’t take a great act… a small act done with great love is enough.
It doesn’t take a completely changed circumstance… just a nudge in a better direction is enough.
And perhaps it helps to remember that the Spirit of God is as close to you as your own breath - and you’re still breathing! - so the Spirit must still be working in your life.
And perhaps it helps to remember that Jesus did, in fact, experience the worst circumstances one could imagine, and even then, the power of God worked in him to restore life and restore hope.
This deep, lasting happiness isn’t going to come to you overnight. But it will come, slowly but surely, if you practice. If you cultivate your garden. If you remember Jesus Christ, and the love of God.
