Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Proverbs 16:20, John 13:1-17

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
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"Pay attention to what you are taught, and you will be successful; trust in the Lord and you will be happy." In that simple verse we are reminded that success and happiness are not one and the same thing. That doesn't seem like that radical a thought - or does it?

In our society - in most societies - people are bombarded with the idea that success equals happiness. If you move up professionally, if you achieve a measure of fame and fortune, happiness will take care of itself, but it doesn't. It always seems to catch us by surprise when we reach a goal that society tells us is great and wonderful - only to feel empty inside, or when someone who's famous and looked up to as extremely successful commits suicide or is checked into a clinic for the treatment of an addiction to alcohol or drugs or is divorced for the 4th or 5th or 6th time. Those experiences remind us once again that success doesn't equal happiness.

The Proverb tells us that trusting in the Lord is the source of the happiness. We don't often think about it that way. We're told that happiness is a fancy new car, or a large screen TV, not something that you can't buy or even see.

There are many things that give us pleasure, that make us happy - at least for a few minutes. But those pleasures are fleeting. Getting something that we want will only make us happy for a little while, there's a much deeper happiness, a joy that lasts and sustains us, and as the Proverb reminds us, that comes, that only comes from trusting in the Lord.

Jesus says something very similar in our text from the gospel of John. His arrest and death on the cross are fast approaching, and this passage is part of the section which reflects His last teachings as Jesus is trying to finish preparing His disciples for what is to come.

Israel has a hot, dry climate. Back in the time of Jesus the standard footware was a type of sandal. They didn't have nice paved roads or sidewalks, so people's feet would very quickly get dusty and dirty. It was the custom that a host would provide water for his guests upon their arrival, so that they might wash their feet. Or sometimes, a servant would also be provided to perform this service for the guests. As you might imagine, this was considered the most menial task a servant could perform.

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When Peter protested because Jesus was his teacher, his Lord and master - not a menial servant, Jesus insisted. As He had done throughout His ministry, Jesus set an example of servanthood, in a very concrete way demonstrating once again that instead of trying to set themselves one above the other, their task/our task is to genuinely love and serve each other.

Jesus closes with these words: "Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!" Living the truth (not our truth, but the real truth), living the truth and trusting in God are lifted up in the Bible as the source of genuine happiness - not the kind that just feels good for a moment, not the kind that just brings a brief smile to our face, but the genuine happiness that warms us deep within, the happiness that lasts through the storms that life brings.

There's a story that I would share with you. I goes like this: "She is 92 years old, petite, well poised, and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed, and her makeup perfectly applied, in spite of the fact that she is legally blind.

"Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary.

"After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, which will be her new home, she smiled sweetly when told that her room was ready.

"As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, one of the employees provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.

"‘I love it,' she stated with the enthusiasm of a eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room... just wait," the employee said. Then Mrs. Jones spoke these memorable words:

"‘That does not have anything to do with it,' she gently replied. ‘Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not, does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind. I have already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I have stored away... just for this time in my life."

Mrs. Jones reminds us that happiness is not something that depends on our external circumstances. It is not something that happens out there. Rather it is something that happens inside when we realize that life is a gift, a wonderful, special gift that we have been given by God.

True happiness or what I might call genuine joy comes when we look beyond ourselves and our plans and get a glimpse of the plans and dreams that God has for us. It comes from realizing that life is far bigger than any of us, that real meaning and purpose comes not from getting what we want or even what society tells us that we should want, rather real meaning and purpose and a deep and abiding joy comes from serving God and discovering what it is that God wants from us and for us.

Amen.