From the Pulpit: Keep expecting joy

Running bible camp errands in a church van this past July, I walked into the Timber Lake, S.D., NAPA Auto Parts store and noticed on the post-it bulletin board—among the mostly hand-written notices of hay bales for sale and upcoming rodeos—a card that simply read, “Keep Expecting Joy,” Pope Francis.  

This short note caught me by surprise and made me stop and think. I had heard this teaching in various ways before. From my grandpa Johnson and through my father came the simple advice; “always look for the good in people.” The resulting conversation through the years acknowledged that the opposite approach to life (looking for faults in the people around you) was an option, too, but not a profitable one.

The parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matt 13) makes it clear that the wheat (good) sowed by the owner of the field and the weeds (bad) sowed by his enemy in the night—do indeed exist side-by-side. The owner’s servants want to go after the weeds, but are reminded that in so doing, the wheat will also be destroyed.

The Gospel’s advice: “For the sake of all that’s good, let the field stand as it is. Yes, there’s both good and evil all around us and in everyone. Let God take care of the separation of good and evil in God’s way and in God’s time. Our job for now is to look for the good; There is so much that is right in this beautiful world; Keep expecting Joy and you will find it. Someone in Timber Lake is reminding us all how simple and rewarding a life of faith can be.