We’ve all heard of the man who set out to be a philosopher but cheerfulness would keep breaking through. Sometimes an occupation leads to anything but cheerfulness. I well remember an undertaker who was always beaming. Since everything in life comes down to moving chairs, it is often the case that a caretaker (or property steward in new-speak) is tempted to take a dismal view of things. And some people are born with a gloomy disposition, carrying all sorts of burdens and expecting a catastrophe around every corner.
We have differing temperaments. If we tend to be morose or saturnine, we may have been made that way or we may have found that all our swans are geese and that it never rains but it pours. Or we may have been the type of baby that gurgles contentedly and goes on to find life a walk in the park. Different rules apply of course to those born with a silver spoon in their mouth or, at the other extreme, to those who have never had new clothes but always clothes passed down from an older sibling.
We should not be at the mercy of our moods or weighed down by the chip on our shoulder. It is instructive to notice how frequently Jesus told people to cheer up. In Matthew 9.2 we find that the scribes were miffed when, encountering a paralysed man, he came out with this adage. What irked them was that he coupled it with a declaration that the man’s sins were forgiven. This was all against the rule-book but bystanders appreciated it. They were filled with awe.
When his disciples found him walking on the water as they were struggling to make headway (Mark 6.50), they found it more than they could take. ‘Cheer up,’ he said. He could see they were terrified. Terrified indeed: what else could they expect if God had come into their midst as one of them?
The same thing happened after Jesus was no longer with them. When Paul was taken into custody in Jerusalem, we are told the Lord appeared to him at night, saying ‘Cheer up. You have told the truth about me in Jerusalem. You must do the same in Rome.’ Paul had picked up the habit. ‘Cheer up,’ he said to exhausted crew members battling against a storm. ‘We’re going to be cast ashore.’ (Acts 27.25)
We all need to hear those two words from time to time. We can also utter them ourselves for the benefit of others.
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