In C S Lewis’ autobiographical work, Surprised by Joy, he describes his journey to faith as one marked by moments of joy punctuating his life and directing him like signposts to God. But what is joy? In many ways, joy resists definition. Joy is more than a fleeting emotion; it is something deeper, that can pervade and transcend any—and all—of life’s circumstances. Joy is something we can know, experience, grow in, and share. 

For Paul, joy is ultimately to know the one is the very source of it. The letter to the Philippians is a letter saturated with resilient joy! Paul prays with joy, rejoices when Christ is preached, knows joy through his brothers and sisters in Christ, and calls on the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. Paul’s joy is grounded in Christ: in the knowledge of what Christ had done, in the experience of relationship with Christ today, and in confidence that God will indeed fulfil his promises. For Paul, joy is not only deeply connected to the Good News of Jesus, but knowing Jesus, growing in our relationship with him, and living obediently to God. Professor Markus Bockmuehl put it like this:

‍“St Paul’s letter to the Philippians sparkles with joy — the sort of life-giving, heart-refreshing joy that is tangibly transforming in its effect on the mundane realities of everyday existence. Philippians is, at the same time, an epistle of joy tested and refined… It shows us Paul at his most mature, having weathered the storms of his earlier ministry… Near the end of his hard and adventurous road, we find a man whose faith in Christ has not only merely survived but aged with grace and wisdom, refined and true as gold.”  — Markus Bockmuehl