Fix your heart on joy
Almighty God,
you alone can bring order to the chaos of our hearts and minds;
help us to love what you command,
and to desire what you promise,
so that among the great and manifold changes of this world,
our hearts may be fixed where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The collect for the Fourth Sunday after Easter teaches us about peace in the midst of change and turmoil. In it, we ask God to bring order to chaos, especially within our hearts and minds. We are pointed away from this world, which is ever changing, to the eternal and unchanging God. We creatures, subject to the same limitations and frailties as the rest of creation, can obtain this great peace through the mediator between God and man, our Lord Jesus Christ.
This collect pairs with both the Epistle and Gospel reading for the week. In the Epistle reading (James 1:17-21), we are taught that God does not change. The theological term for this concept is divine immutability. This doctrine is not an abstract way to merely shore up God’s immensity, but is indeed the foundation for his benevolent faithfulness. God’s immutability is why we can trust him and trust that he is good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). This understanding of God’s nature is necessary so that we can rule over our own natures, not giving in to “wrath” (James 1:19-20) and passionate reactions to this world. Instead, we are to be meek, receiving the word of salvation in our hearts (James 1:18, 21). We can trust God because he is good, always.
The Gospel reading also has to do with internal turmoil, when “sorrow hath filled your heart” (John 16:6). In context, the disciples are sorrowful and afraid because Jesus is about to go away. They will be left without their master, and they will be opposed by the world and even the majority of their countrymen. Their hearts and minds would no doubt be thrown into chaos. But Jesus promises to send them comfort. Indeed, he promises to send them a Comforter, the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). This Spirit is Christ’s own Spirit, the Spirit of God, and he will lead all of Christ’s followers into the way of truth. And so today, we too can have comfort in a hostile world, even when it seems as if we are alone. We can have this comfort because we have that same comforting Spirit of God. This Spirit will grant us the peace of God which “keeps our hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
In these readings, we also see the trinitarian shape of divine guidance and comfort. The Father gives us all good gifts, the greatest being his Son. Then his Son, Jesus Christ, gives us his Spirit, the Spirit which brings order into our hearts, leads us into the truth, and grants us peace. As we move to the end of Easter, we continue to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection, but we also begin to prepare for his departure and what comes afterwards. We prepare our hearts and minds for the spiritual life which all Christians must live until he returns again.
So pray this with me:
Almighty God,
you alone can bring order to the chaos of our hearts and minds;
help us to love what you command,
and to desire what you promise,
so that among the great and manifold changes of this world,
our hearts may be fixed where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.