Conversatio Morum

19 December 2011

Joy Rules

Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy

that will be for all people.[1]

It was during one of my first visits to Luzira prison near Kampala, Uganda, that the Officer in Charge invited me to visit the “condemned section” of the prison.  I knew about the condemned section of Luzira, for it was the much dreaded end of the line for prisoners who had been sentenced to death and were waiting to be executed.  

Not wanting to appear overly eager in responding to the opportunity, I hesitated for a moment, and yet at the same time I felt a bit intimidated and unsure of what I should do when I got there.  What could I possibly do or say that would be remotely relevant and meaningful to men who were condemned to die and who were totally cut off from the outside world with nothing to live for except the hangman’s noose? 

The officer noticed my hesitation and sense of apprehension.  “You need not worry Mr. Nikkel,” he interjected, “there is nothing to be afraid of.  In fact, you will find more joy in the condemned section of this prison than you can find anywhere else in Uganda.”  Then, without a further word he led me from his office into the congested prison yard.  As we passed through the locked gates and narrow corridors into the core of the prison it seemed to me like we were making our way into the heart of darkness and despair.  

When we finally reached the condemned section we had to wait for a few moments for yet another steel clad door to be unlocked, the door by which the ninety men in the condemned section were cut off from contact with the rest of the prison and the outside world.   The noisy clamour of the prison yard had receded in the background and in the almost-silence of the maximum security prison within a prison I began to hear the sound of music coming from the other side of the heavy door.  As the door slowly swung open the music grew louder and the sight and sound of what came next is something I will never forget.

Ninety men were crowded into a tiny open concrete courtyard.  Some of them were old, others young – some were dressed in new white prison clothes and others in greying prison garb – but every single man was smiling and all were singing. Some men played on homemade instruments while others played percussion on metal plates but the music they made and the song they sang was like that of an angel choir – rousing, joyful, and uplifting.  I cannot begin to describe what it was like to encounter such joy and celebration in the pit of that prison, the end of the line where condemned and broken men have nothing left to live for.  

There, on the doorstep of execution the men of the condemned section in a miserable prison had come to realize the good news that nothing – not separation, confinement, guilt or condemnation, nor the hangman’s noose could separate them from the good news of God’s love and grace in Jesus.  The condemned section to which they were consigned was not the end of life.  For one of the very first times in my life I tasted the triumph of joy over mortal dread and futility.   Joy reigned where I had least expected to find it.  

During these final days of Advent it seems to me that our world is increasingly characterized by a sense of pervasive joylessness and angst.  Fear, anger, and pessimism reign in the hearts of so many people who see their present and future lives overshadowed by the spectre of political and economic distress if not calamity.  And while there is much to be concerned about during these times, the good news is that Jesus was born not into an idyllic world but into an oppressed and joyless world of economic distress, political conflict, social chaos, and superstition complicated by the frailty and futility of human efforts in finally resolving such problems.  

Jesus Christ was born into the world as the Messiah, Saviour, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, and Everlasting Father[2]  - this is the good news for the very worst bad news in our world and in our lives is not the final word.  This good news is the source of unquenchable joy, joy that dispels the gloomiest and most oppressing shadows over human existence – past, present, and future.  This joy overruled all of the fear and distress in the lives of the condemned men I met in Luzira prison.  On the threshold of 2012, as we celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ, I am reminded that this good news is the source of joy for me, for you, and for all people everywhere.  May that joy rule in our hearts and lives today and always, regardless of the bad news we inevitably encounter!

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,

Stars and angels sing around Thee, centre of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,

Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed,

Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;

Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;

Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.

Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,

Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life. [3]

[1] Luke 2:10
[2] Isaiah 9:6
[3] Henry J. Van Dyke “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee”
(Poems of Henry Van Dyke, 1911) also adapted and set to music as the “Hymn to
Joy” in Ludwig Beethhoven’s Ninth Symphony.

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