Watching with Joy
In the Gospel of John, we read 15:9-11
“As the Creator has loved me, so have I loved you. Now
remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as
I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in
you and that your joy may be complete.
In Isaiah we read;
The spirit of the Exalted YWHW is upon me,
for YWHW has anointed me:
God has sent me to bring good news to those who
Are poor;
To heal broken hearts;
To proclaim release to those held captive
And liberation to those in prison;
To announce a year of Favor from YHWH,
And the day of God’s vindication;
To comfort those who mourn,
To provide for those who grieve in Zion-
To give them a wreath of flowers instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of tears,
A cloak of praise instead of despair.
They will restore the ancient ruins,
And rebuild sites long devastated;
They will repair the ruined cities,
Neglected for generations.
Oh, what Joy These words Proclaim. Truly if someone came along today and said
they were going to do all these things the world would rejoice.
Today is Joy Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, Pink Sunday we are
watching for Joy; The Joy of the season, the Joy of Living, the Joy of Just
being a Christian. Paul said to the church, "Rejoice in the Lord
always". There was a simple hymn based on those words. Who here knows the song?
Rejoice in the Lord
always:
again, I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always:
again, I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice, rejoice,
and again, I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice, rejoice,
and again, I say, Rejoice!
Rejoice in the lord always again I say rejoice? (let me here
it?) let’s try it on just the right
side…. Okay now Just the left side. Can we try it in a round?
That’s the Spirit.
That is the spirit of the season…that is the spirit of Christianity. First and foremost, rejoice in the Lord
always. When we are watching for joy, we
are living in Joy…If we go out with Joy (no I am not making you sing that one too)
but when we go out with Joy, we bring that joy into the world. And if we live
in this world in the Joy of the Lord, people will think we are up to
something. Of course, we are up to
something… Just as John was a voice in the wilderness so are, we.
John even celebrates Joy before he is born …
The angel Gabriel has appeared to Mary and told her that she
would have a child, even though she is still a virgin. She was also told that
her relative, Elizabeth would have a child as well even though she was believed
to be barren. Two miraculous births: Mary’s virgin pregnancy of Jesus, and the
pregnancy of John the Baptist to Elizabeth who was thought barren. Mary was so
excited about the news that she immediately went to Elizabeth.
“Mary arrives at Elizabeth’s house and John, still within
the womb of Elizabeth, leaps for joy. Now, many here have shared the experience
of feeling a baby kick while still inside its mother. It’s an amazing thing to
see and feel the mother’s belly move as a tiny foot reaches out to meet the new
world. But there is a difference between a kick and a leap. Scripture says that
the baby leaped once Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary. Even in the womb,
John the Baptist, as a mere infant, was able to experience the joy of being
this close to his Lord. Even in the womb, the savior’s presence was strong
enough that an unborn child reacted to him.”[1]
Even before he had a
voice or full awareness John was bringing recognition to the Joy that is about
to happen in the world. And as for Elizabeth
“The Holy Spirit filled her and she spoke in a loud voice
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed in the fruit of your womb!” (Luke
1:42) Not only did Elizabeth recognize her relative Mary, not only did she
recognize that Mary was pregnant, but she recognized what this really meant.
She understood that Mary’s pregnancy was not an everyday, normal pregnancy. It
was something unusual, just as her pregnancy with John was something unusual.
The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth and she responded by allowing the Spirit to
work through her. She was filled with joy that the mother of her Lord had come
to see her.”[2]
We are the ones who are called, called to seek a just world
for all. And though the world may seem bleak and grey at times as Christians we
are called to be the Light of the world, we are called to be the comforter amid
pain, we are called to be the companion in the midst of sadness and loss and we
are called to be spiritual joy for all.
Wait…we are called to do all that? That sounds like hard work!
Let me tell you a secret. You see, we know something. We know we are blessed children of God and we
know that every person is as well… no matter what.
That’s the rub sometimes though… isn’t it? It is hard enough to love our friends and
family, yet we are called to love all.
It is hard when we are faced with devastating disasters or hard
news. Sometimes it is hard to rejoice in
the Lord when what we really want to do is Cry or scream or even just punch
something.
But the joy of the lord calls us beyond the surface of
things and beyond ourselves, beyond seeing things as good or bad.
Richard Rohr writes; “A binary system of either /or choices
is good and necessary in the lofty world of logic, mechanics, mathematics, and
science, and in the everyday world of knowing whether to turn left or right to
get from point A to point B. It produced
the scientific and industrial revolutions that have served us so well in many
areas. But these have begun to show their severe limitations, and this mind can
take us only so far; it cannot access eternal things. It is not the tree of
life, but only the tree of “this or that.”
Any allowing of the hidden side of things, the “more” side
of things, the dark side of things — while also holding onto the attractive and
knowable side — usually marks the beginnings of nondual consciousness. Whenever
we can appreciate the goodness and value of something, while still knowing its
limitations and failures, this also marks the beginnings of wisdom and nondual
consciousness.
Most humans are not very good at such “allowing”; it often
feels like what Paul calls “groaning.” In recent centuries no one has shown us
exactly how to do this, yet it is surely the tree of life at the center of the
garden, whose roots extend deep and wide. Perhaps a more familiar word is
simply “forgiveness.” The struggle to forgive reality for being exactly what it
is right now often breaks us through to nondual consciousness. We have to
overcome the rational domination of ego and reason to forgive a deep hurt or
memory. As Zechariah says in his beautiful canticle, “You will know salvation
through the mystery of forgiveness” (Luke 2:77). That’s it!” [3]
Rohr makes it sound so simple right? Okay maybe not…What we are trying to say is
that we can hold today’s world with all its flaws and pains, we can hold those
whose character maybe in question or worse yet those who are making decisions
we do not agree with…we can hold witness with compassion and without
condemnation. We are called to forgiveness.
That’s hard. But it is the forgiveness that Christ teaches and calls us too.
It is that Loving forgiveness through which we live each
day. It is through forgiveness, forgiveness and compassion that we can watch
with Joy.
We can look out upon this planet and still watch with Joy;
just as Mary watched with Joy, as Elizabeth and Zachariah watched with Joy, as
the shepherds and Angels watched with Joy.
The Joy whose birth we celebrate in ten days. The Joy we live into everyday it is the Joy of
the God incarnate in Jesus Christ and the Joy of the Kin-Dom of God that we
work to manifest here on earth.
So when you heart feels as if it could break because of the
things happening in the world around us…or when you feel that the challenges
facing you are a bit too much… we are called to hold that pain, that
helplessness, hold it gently and love it and look upon it with Joy and rejoice
for our Lord is with us.
Comforting us through
it all.
I know too some this concept may hold as much water as a new
sieve. But it is true. As one who has served as a chaplain, I have
seen Joy show up in the most painful and dark places. This Joy is not something that comes from
humanity, it is a deeply peace filled Joy, that is the God spark. It comes from
some place beyond us and yet through and from within us.
I truly cannot put it into words what this is exactly beyond
saying simply it is the miracle of the sacred Joy that comes from beyond and
finds a way, when there is no way. It is
something so sacred and precious and, yet it is available to everyone. If we
just watch for it, look for it you will see it and experience it most every day.
In today’s gospel
John sends his followers to Jesus and asks if he is the one to come. Not that I believe John has doubts I think he
is trying to bring the focus away from him as his time was coming to an end.
And Jesus basically says see how I live, what I do and what
I teach and what does Jesus teach???
Let’s hear Isaiah 6 again:
The spirit of the Exalted YWHW is upon me,
for YWHW has anointed me:
God has sent me to bring good news to those who
Are poor;
To heal broken hearts;
To proclaim release to those held captive
And liberation to those in prison;
To announce a year of Favor from YHWH,
And the day of God’s vindication;
To comfort those who mourn,
To provide for those who grieve in Zion-
To give them a wreath of flowers instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of tears,
A cloak of praise instead of despair.
They will restore the ancient ruins,
And rebuild sites long devastated;
They will repair the ruined cities,
Neglected for generations.
And Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice! Amen
[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/advent-3-joy-is-no-secret-scott-jensen-sermon-on-christmas-advent-74743?page=2
[2]
Ditto
[3] Rohr,
Richard. The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See.
Crossroad Pub. Co., 2015. Pg. 106
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