Fullness of Joy in the Presence of God
Year B: Proper 28
You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
Year B, Proper 28, November 17, 2024
First Reading: Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm: Psalm 16
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-25
Gospel: Mark 13:1-8
Fullness of Joy in the Presence of God
I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:8–11
I Shall Not Be Moved (Verse 8)
With God on our side, nothing can permanently trouble us. As Jesus said in Matthew 7, rain may come and wind may blow, but our house will stand firm. We don’t always know what the future will hold, but we know that God will always hold us closely, especially in times of trouble.
My Body Also Rests Secure (Verses 9-10)
Even death can’t separate us from God. As Paul teaches in Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 3, and Philippians 1, death has no power over us. We may die, we may be persecuted, we may lose all we have, but nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Of course, Peter and Paul cite this passage to talk about Jesus (Acts 2:25-28; Acts 13:35). But remember that what happens to Jesus happens to us. Since death didn’t mean the end of Jesus, death doesn’t mean the end of us. Like Jesus, we live forever in the presence of God.
God doesn’t abandon us because God is our loving Father.
The Path of Life (Verse 11a)
The path of life is the Way of Jesus. Not only is Jesus’s teaching the way to have abundant life, but Jesus himself is that Way. As Jesus said in John 14, he reverses the lie by embodying the Truth, he reverses the separation by becoming the Way to God, and he reverses the death by being the Life.
We know who God is because of Jesus, and we know the abundant life we have in Jesus is better than anything else this world could offer.
Fullness of Joy (Verse 11b)
This path of life leads directly to God’s presence. In John, Jesus said that the disciples joy would be full (John 15:11; John 16:24; John 17:13). This fullness of joy is the mutual indwelling of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Through Jesus, we have full access to God (Hebrews 10:11-25). We can body march into the Holy Place because we now know that we are God’s beloved children and nothing can separate us from that love and that Presence.
In Your Right Hand (Verse 11c)
To have fullness of joy is to share in the resurrection life of Jesus, who is at God’s right hand. In Ephesians 1, Paul wrote, “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:20).
But here’s the secret: being in God’s presence through resurrection isn’t something we have to wait for. We can enjoy it now.
In chapter 2, Paul said,
All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else, but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:3–7
We have already been raised out of the death brought through our sins to abide in the presence of God at God’s right hand.
When we walk with God, then, we have nothing to fear, not even physical death. Instead, we share in the abundant life of Jesus, a life that gives us joy to the fullest.
If you are thankful for this joy, share it with someone today. You could even share it with them by sending them this post using the button below.
Second Reading: You are here…
You are here because you are loved. Obviously, we love you and are glad you are with us to celebrate Friendsgiving, but have you ever paused to think that you are here on this earth because of God’s love for you? Undeniable, unending, unshakable love.
All over the country next week, people will pause to thank God for their houses, jobs, families, friends, and all kinds of material blessings and opportunities, and this is obviously good in God’s eyes. Rarely, though, do humans pause to thank God for their very existence—an existence that flows from God’s awesome love. Everyone on earth lives and moves and exists because of God’s love (Acts 17:28).
Love is often seen as a fluffy, soft, and possibly weak emotion, but when we realize that God’s love was perfectly demonstrated through the Cross, we realize that love is anything but weak (Romans 5:8). Often we realize how difficult love actually is when we encounter someone who, in the moment, seems unlovable. “Victory” in Jesus’s eyes, though, isn’t concerned with rejecting the unlovable but through drawing them to himself through the Cross. Even when we fail, sin, or really make a mess of things, we can rest assured that God loves us because the Cross has proved once and for all that there is no line God will not cross to reconcile us to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). Despite our best efforts, there is Jesus on the Cross saying, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34).
You are LOVED.
This is our theme for 2025, and LOVED works as an acronym. It means that Jesus Left heaven, Offered himself on the Cross, achieved Victory through the resurrection, Entered the Holy Place at his ascension, and Defeats death through his second coming.
I’ll hope you’ll join us starting the first Sunday in December as we journey through the gospel story. You are here because you are LOVED.
Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.