"Joy is the light we need when life feels its darkest."
– Lindsey Goodwin, PhD.
I concluded my previous blog post with a quote by the Reverend Emily Wiles. As I am sure that we all soon discovered, her words were not meant to be simply read, but rather, to be pondered deeply in the heart, much like Mary did when first told that she would bear a son who would be called Immanuel, God with us. Wiles wrote:
The season of Advent reminds me to seek hope in the ebb and flow of grief. It reminds me that I can hold God accountable for those promises in scripture. God's stories—our stories—illuminate the unlimited possibilities of God's grace. Even when love feels distant, even when our loved ones seem hidden, God shows us how to find hope that carries us into joy.
I love these thoughts, and particularly the last line. We can hold God accountable for the promises made in scripture, especially in these uncertain and discouraging times. I recently listened to a report on the radio that the most visited passage in the Bible this Advent is Isaiah 41:10.
do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Within the vibrant mix of God's stories and ours, there are unlimited possibilities for God's grace to shine and make whole our broken world and to heal the sicknesses that threaten our witness of faith. Casting off our fear and choosing not to be afraid, we trust God to strengthen and help us and show us how to find hope that carries us into joy.
December fourteenth is the third Sunday of Advent, and the candle we light in our Advent wreath is symbolic of joy. It is also called the Shepherd's Candle, because it was during the darkness of the night, amid their problems and perils, that the angels announced some news that would be a reason for great joy for all the people, the birth of Christ.
8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"[c]
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them. (Luke 2: 8-20, NRSVUE)
Father Richard Rohr, the Franciscan priest, author and spiritual director, reminds us that "joy is both a decision and a surrender. It's the choice to open our eyes and hearts to what is good, what is beautiful, what stirs our soul—and to let ourselves be delighted by it. And it's the gentle surrender to life's unpredictability, understanding that while we can't control much, we can choose how we respond. We can choose to see joy, to welcome it, to live from it."
The shepherds in the field watching their flocks that night did just that! With souls stirred, they made a decision and surrendered to it. As soon as the angel left them, they surrendered to the call. From that point on, the emphasis of the passage is on the active verbs:
Let us go and see…
They went with haste and found…
They made known what had been told to them…
And then and only then: The shepherds returned (to their fields and sheep) glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
When we join in the Advent journey, lighting the shepherd's candle of joy, you and I are deciding to revisit God's story within the context of our story, surrendering ourselves to what we see and hear and what we have been told about this good news of great joy for us all. We can choose to welcome it and live from it and share it.
Indeed, we would also do well to remember the words of Jesus in the fifteenth chapter of John.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:9-11, NRSVUE)
It is Jesus who completes our joy when we welcome his joy into our hearts and then live from it.
Again, Father Rohr is the source of inspiring words with his personal testimony:
I have committed myself to joy. I have come to realize that those who make space for joy, those who prefer nothing to joy, those who desire the utter reality, will most assuredly have it. We must not be afraid to announce it to refugees, slum dwellers, saddened prisoners, angry prophets. Now and then we must even announce it to ourselves. In this prison of now, in this cynical (I would add, cruel) and sophisticated age, someone must believe in joy.
In the prison of now, that someone is you and me.
The apostle Paul wrote the following prayerful petition for the Christian martyrs living in Rome:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
When we abound in the hope of God's promises, that hope carries us into joy. God promises to fill with all joy and peace those who believe in Jesus, who commit to follow Jesus, who dedicate themselves to telling His story and how it has affected their lives. Jesus is the good news of great joy that has come to and for all of us.