Reverend Ann's Letter
August 2025
Three days ago, we attended a special family wedding and the next morning my sister-in-law remarked that it had been a joyful occasion. It made me think of how many things in life we can truly describe as joyful. I think our service at Hacheston on 6th July was joyful and I hope all who attended would agree.
It seems to me that we read a lot about happiness, how to obtain it, how to sustain it, how we all deserve it, but joy is something apart from happiness, something more profound. Joy is a balance in our lives, it is part of the whole, underpinning our faith and way of being.
Our faith is about good news, that is what the word Gospel literally means. Some may think that Christians are far from joyful and can actually be killjoys which may sadly be true at times.
However, Jesus told his followers that he came so that we could have life and have it abundantly. The Christian story is one of how we can all get more from life. As Christians we are all called by God to let others know that the path to fulfilment and real purpose in life is found in Jesus.
Jesus was sometimes accused of being too joyful when he went to people’s homes and ate, and laughed with them, those who had nothing to lose and recognised God’s love for them in Jesus’ person. In John’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples, ‘I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.’
The other part of our good news is that the fulfilment of God’s kingdom will be a place of joy. I am reminded of these words from Isaiah 55:12: You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
The promise of this is something that can sustain and comfort us. In the meantime, let us give thanks for those times in our lives when we have experienced real joy and recognise that at its source is the one who came to give us joy in full measure.
Go well.
Ann