The principal characters in today’s readings are Isaiah, Mary, the Thessalonians and John the Baptist. Without exception (and like us,) they lived with life-altering questions for which they had no immediate answers. They had no clear sense of what would happen, and along the way, they suffered for holding fast to their beliefs as well as what the messengers of God and their very lives told them were true.
They believed that God’s love enfolded them as they went on. (Do we?)
Woven through all four pieces of today’s Scriptures is a strong, luminous thread called joy.
None of these – Isaiah, Mary, the Thessalonians and John – had it easy, but they were all convinced that they were loved by God. (Are we?) They dared to forge new paths and they believed in a coming yet unseen. They knew by instinct and by faith that God loved their world and they rejoiced. (Do we?)
What is joy anyway? Can we experience it even in these immensely difficult times?
Joy is not giddy delight nor happy laughter or merrymaking. It’s not a tailgate party or the euphoria of drugs. Joy is not the response to comedians or a passing response to incongruity.
Joy is anchored in the promise that God wills the well-being of all. It is the keen awareness that God is in our life or is coming in a new way. It is a learned response that requires time, patience and a sustained effort. Joy grows in us over a lifetime.
The person who has learned joy gazes at, walks in the world and sees God’s imprint in life and nature.
Take the beloved American poet Mary Oliver. She encouraged her readers to welcome joy. “If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it…Life has some possibility left. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.”
“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,” the psalmist reminds us (Ps.34.5).
So, do it. Look to God who is near. Don’t think your way into joy. Don’t make it a project. Don’t preprogram it. The experience will happen in the depths of our hearts despite pandemic, economic distress and personal loss. Instead, be open to the season which celebrates the coming of God.
As this season comes to flower, enjoy the music, drink in the delicate scent of fir trees, peppermint and ginger-bread.
Look around you and see for certain that God is in love with the world.
We have great cause to rejoice.
~ Sister Joan Sobala
