This Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent and the the theme is Joy. The candle is even pink to set it apart, and say "Be JOYful! And so, in thinking through what it means to be joyful I thought of an old VBS song that goes...
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. (Where?)
Down in my heart, (Where?)
Down in my heart, (Where?)
Down in my heart to stay.
It's a funny little repetitive song, that in spite of it's potentially annoying character, always seems to bring me joy as I sing it. It reminds me that in spite of all of my present circumstances, my happiness does not depend upon circumstances. Instead of relying on fickle happiness, I have JOY. I have a joy that comes from way down in my heart. AND it's down in my heart to STAY.
I don't think that it is good, fair, or right to expect Christians to be people who are happy all the time. But, I do think that when talking about joy, we can have a joy deep in our hearts to stay, because our joy is not dependent upon our circumstances. Our joy comes from the fact that God loves us and came to us.
Christmas brings us joy for more than just presents and decorations, and for more than just happy songs, and good food, and even for more than our families and friends. Christmas brings us joy because it reminds us that when we were a lost and broken people, God came to us, and lived among us, and through the Holy Spirit is with us today. That is the source of our Christmas joy, and it is a joy that is down in our hearts to stay!
The Scripture passages this week are:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
John 1:6-8, 19-28
Look at them and ask yourself:
Where do you see joy in these passages?
Where do you see joy in your daily life?
What verses or songs bring you joy?
How can we transform our perspectives so that our joy is the kind of joy that God gives, which is down in our heart to stay?
May God bring you joy during this Christmas season!
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3 comments:
Isaiah 61:11 makes me think of Matthew 13. "Joy" is a short term hormonal reaction to undeserved and surprising grace (Matthew 13:20-21). That I understand. But living in a state of sustained "joyeousness" is a mystery to me.
We also experience joy when we've completed a challenging project; bearing fruit when we see and fulfill God's hope for us (Matthew 13:23). In John 1, Johnny B. understood his role as proclaimer of the light and did not try to be the light himself.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26). In Luke 2, Simeon and Anna experience the joy of closure as their roles as witnesses were completed when they allowed themselves to be guided by the Spirit.
Isaiah 61:10 uses the bride and bridegroom's joy as a metaphor for living in expectation and anticipated joy (Matthew 25:1-13). The joy of a child waiting for Christmas morning.
I may not know what joy is, but I recognize it when I see it!
In Isaiah, the joy is that God is sending comfort to his people, after they have been exiled because of their behavior. Even though God loves justice and he exiled his people to show them their error, his mercy and love show through always. To me, the joy is that God always loves us, no matter what we do, and always calls us back to him.
As always, the sermon was totally on target; even though I yet again stand convicted! I was particularly moved by your honest assessment of our congregation as being broken - the 900 pound gorilla in the room.
Throughout scripture, God relishes loving, reaching and using us in our brokeness. That is our joy; for our strengths are our weaknesses when they close our ears to God's whispering in our ears. Writers have mentioned that you can see a mountain top better when you're at the bottom than you can while you're climbing it.
We are gaining perspective.
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