The Advent of Joy
Isaiah 7:10-16; Titus 3:4-7
December 19, 2010
The text from Titus is both a theological mouthful, and a simple invitation: “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, and saved us, according to God’s own mercy, through the Spirit poured out for us through Jesus the Christ.”
In other words: joy to the world, the Lord has come; let earth receive her king.
Joy to the world!
Joy to the world!
The world could certainly use a little joy these days – a little authentic joy.
Too often, instead, we paper over joylessness, and worse, with bits and pieces of cheap happiness.
We can easily shop ourselves into a stupor this time of year and call it the pursuit of happiness, but deep, lasting, authentic joy does not come in a package no matter how big and beautiful it may be.
It’s important to recognize that simple and oft-stated truth, because the truth is some people feel out of place, out of season, this time of year because gifts don’t make them happy, much less truly joyful. Some folks even feel guilty because they don’t feel happy, but there are all kinds of good reasons for not feeling happy this time of year.
Some of us get sick this time of year, and boy do I feel your pain this year. Others, in our part of the world, have moods the mirror the darkness of December days.
But even if you’re hale and hearty and don’t mind winter, Christmas can come as a painful reminder of past loss, of broken relationships, of hope disappointed, of loved ones no longer with us. Blue Christmas is not just an old pop song.
On the other hand, lots of us find all kinds of simple sources of happiness this time of year. Some folks just love the carols of the season. Others love the decorations. Most everyone enjoys the bright eyes of expectant children. Some people even love to shop, and there are even those who love winter weather and long winter nights.
But whether Christmas is a time of the blues for you, or a season of festive cheer, there is deeper good news that should be of great joy for all of us. After all, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
That the government will be upon his shoulders is a promise of a future unlike the past or present, and should bring great joy to all … except maybe those who hold too tightly to the power they have.
The he should be called “wonderful,” “counselor” should bring great joy to all of us who suffer, who despair sometimes, whose hearts ache from time to time – that is to say, all of us. That comes as less than good news only to those who sell cheap forms of grace.
That he should be named “mighty God” should come as deep joy to all of those who have suffered what I like to call theological abuse at the hands of those who engage in theological malpractice and try to convince their followers and the rest of us as well that God only loves folks just like them or that God only blesses folks just like them or that there is only one way – always their way – to find the heart of God. Because the Jesus of the gospels does not point us to a God of confined love or restricted blessing or less than awesome mystery, and that is joyous good news indeed, unless you’re peddling a lesser god.
That he shall called “prince of peace” – well that should come as joy to the entire war-weary world.
These tidings of great joy which shall be for all people come with no strings attached.
They also come with an invitation, and one that complicates matters a bit for some. You see, this good news comes with, or, better, comes as an invitation into a relationship. Even better, or more accurately, the good news – the gospel of Jesus Christ – comes as an invitation into a web of relationships.
The gospel invites us into relationship with the God made known through the Jesus story, and into relationship with God’s people in the community of faith that is the church.
There was an article circling around the Facebook world last week, entitled “7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable.” While I’m certain that we could add to the list and complicate is in lots of ways, the seven reasons the author named struck me as legitimate commentary on our times, and they all came down to the same core concern: a profound lack of authentic relationships shaped, formed and sustained in authentic community has left us adrift, unanchored, and fearful in the midst of the constant whitewater of our high-tech, rapidly changing culture.
The great joy that shall be for all people can only be truly experienced and participated in when we are bound together in the kinds of relationships that anchor us firmly.
When we speak, during this Advent season, of preparing our hearts for the coming again of Christ into the world, we are talking about opening our hearts to deep relationships with one another and with the God made known to us through the one whose birth announced the great turning of the world.
So let us turn. Let us turn from paralysis to faithful action in the world. Let us turn from despair toward Advent hope, from fear toward the Advent of love, from strife and division toward the Advent of peace, and from the surface prompts of the marketplace with its false claims of happiness toward the depth of authentic relationship that announces Advent joy. Let us turn, then, toward Bethlehem. Let us turn toward the manger. Amen.
December 19, 2010
The text from Titus is both a theological mouthful, and a simple invitation: “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, and saved us, according to God’s own mercy, through the Spirit poured out for us through Jesus the Christ.”
In other words: joy to the world, the Lord has come; let earth receive her king.
Joy to the world!
Joy to the world!
The world could certainly use a little joy these days – a little authentic joy.
Too often, instead, we paper over joylessness, and worse, with bits and pieces of cheap happiness.
We can easily shop ourselves into a stupor this time of year and call it the pursuit of happiness, but deep, lasting, authentic joy does not come in a package no matter how big and beautiful it may be.
It’s important to recognize that simple and oft-stated truth, because the truth is some people feel out of place, out of season, this time of year because gifts don’t make them happy, much less truly joyful. Some folks even feel guilty because they don’t feel happy, but there are all kinds of good reasons for not feeling happy this time of year.
Some of us get sick this time of year, and boy do I feel your pain this year. Others, in our part of the world, have moods the mirror the darkness of December days.
But even if you’re hale and hearty and don’t mind winter, Christmas can come as a painful reminder of past loss, of broken relationships, of hope disappointed, of loved ones no longer with us. Blue Christmas is not just an old pop song.
On the other hand, lots of us find all kinds of simple sources of happiness this time of year. Some folks just love the carols of the season. Others love the decorations. Most everyone enjoys the bright eyes of expectant children. Some people even love to shop, and there are even those who love winter weather and long winter nights.
But whether Christmas is a time of the blues for you, or a season of festive cheer, there is deeper good news that should be of great joy for all of us. After all, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
That the government will be upon his shoulders is a promise of a future unlike the past or present, and should bring great joy to all … except maybe those who hold too tightly to the power they have.
The he should be called “wonderful,” “counselor” should bring great joy to all of us who suffer, who despair sometimes, whose hearts ache from time to time – that is to say, all of us. That comes as less than good news only to those who sell cheap forms of grace.
That he should be named “mighty God” should come as deep joy to all of those who have suffered what I like to call theological abuse at the hands of those who engage in theological malpractice and try to convince their followers and the rest of us as well that God only loves folks just like them or that God only blesses folks just like them or that there is only one way – always their way – to find the heart of God. Because the Jesus of the gospels does not point us to a God of confined love or restricted blessing or less than awesome mystery, and that is joyous good news indeed, unless you’re peddling a lesser god.
That he shall called “prince of peace” – well that should come as joy to the entire war-weary world.
These tidings of great joy which shall be for all people come with no strings attached.
They also come with an invitation, and one that complicates matters a bit for some. You see, this good news comes with, or, better, comes as an invitation into a relationship. Even better, or more accurately, the good news – the gospel of Jesus Christ – comes as an invitation into a web of relationships.
The gospel invites us into relationship with the God made known through the Jesus story, and into relationship with God’s people in the community of faith that is the church.
There was an article circling around the Facebook world last week, entitled “7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable.” While I’m certain that we could add to the list and complicate is in lots of ways, the seven reasons the author named struck me as legitimate commentary on our times, and they all came down to the same core concern: a profound lack of authentic relationships shaped, formed and sustained in authentic community has left us adrift, unanchored, and fearful in the midst of the constant whitewater of our high-tech, rapidly changing culture.
The great joy that shall be for all people can only be truly experienced and participated in when we are bound together in the kinds of relationships that anchor us firmly.
When we speak, during this Advent season, of preparing our hearts for the coming again of Christ into the world, we are talking about opening our hearts to deep relationships with one another and with the God made known to us through the one whose birth announced the great turning of the world.
So let us turn. Let us turn from paralysis to faithful action in the world. Let us turn from despair toward Advent hope, from fear toward the Advent of love, from strife and division toward the Advent of peace, and from the surface prompts of the marketplace with its false claims of happiness toward the depth of authentic relationship that announces Advent joy. Let us turn, then, toward Bethlehem. Let us turn toward the manger. Amen.
posted by David Ensign at
11:53 AM
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