Joyous Encounters

Any list of emotions characterizing true Christian spirituality must include joy. In his two volumes, Luke summons his audience to joy-filled living in personal and community life. This study supplements a dearth of biblical and theological attention to the topic of joy.Luke's paired volumes show people encountering the numinous (supernatural) world through a plethora of charismatic experiences with the divine. These experiences include angelic visitations, visions, healings, and baptism in the Spirit. Within the broad canon of Scripture, Luke draws his readers into the affective experiences of others. In examining biblical texts, interpreters must not ignore important features like the emotional atmosphere, the charismatic experiences of individuals and groups, and their expressions of joy. Embracing these features supports the reality that God wills joy for his people. This study will show that Luke links charismatic encounters with the Christian experience of joy, confirmed by the repeated references to joy in the text. Numerous texts reflect an atmosphere, experience, and expression of joy, all intended to attract readers, then and now, to joyful living, as persons and communities of faith. Thus, Luke argues for a "lived theology" of joy when people encounter the supernatural world