The perhaps surprising dominant note in the New Testament is joy. All three kinds of Joy we looked at yesterday are present in it. N. T. Wright offers helpful insight into this matter in his article “Joy: Some New Testament Perspectives and Questions” ( http://faith.yale.edu/sites/default/files/wright.pdf ). He briefly examines the Old Testament and concludes regarding the reasons and character of joy, “The reasons include a mighty act of God to bring about victory over evil and the rescue of God’s people from its grip. The character of joy includes the vigorous and vibrant celebration of the goodness of the created order, expressed through the activities which signal and symbolize human well-being – eating, drinking, the joy of marriage, music and dancing” (2). Israel’s return from exile in Babylon is a threshold moment. The Lord has brought the people back to the land, to be sure. But something was missing. The great promises of Isa.40-55 and Ez.36-45 had not been fulfi...