Joy

The scriptures referred to are Isaiah 61:1-4, Psalm 126, and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.

You see the videos online: an unsuspecting child is approached from behind by a parent in military uniform. Once they turn and see them they run to them, jump into their arms and often cry. But they are obviously tears of joy. It is evident that the soldier is returning from deployment and they haven't see their spouse and kids for a while. But the kids are much more emotional because the time their parent was gone is a much bigger portion of their short life. Who knows how young they were when they last saw their mother or father? Dogs are even more demonstrative, jumping up, trying to lick their faces, wagging their tails and positively vibrating with joy. Which brings to mind another set of videos that show kids being unexpectedly given puppies as pets. In these the children do not jump or squeal but their faces distort into what, in another context, might seem to be the mask of great grief and they cry copiously. They are, however, overcome with joy in reaction to their fondest desire being fulfilled at last.

Usually we think of happiness as consisting of having all your desires granted. But happiness can be merely having your basic needs met. Happiness can come from simply having food, shelter, a good job and a loving family. Joy tends to be more intense, a response to a deep desire you have longed for being met. But sometimes joy is, as C. S. Lewis put it, an “unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” Examples would be the sweet longing to see your boyfriend or girlfriend when you are apart or the joyful anticipation when you are a kid counting down the days to Christmas. So it's appropriate that this Sunday in Advent we focus on joy.

Joy is a major part of our faith, though you would never know it from some sourpusses. Forms of the words “joy” and “rejoice” appear over 400 times in the Bible, and especially in the Psalms and the gospels. And as pointed out in the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, to which this sermon owes a large debt, while the Bible sometimes references joy brought about earthly things, like a victory or a harvest, “its overwhelming context is spiritual.”

Joy ultimately comes from being in God's presence. As it says in Psalm 16, “In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever.” (Psalm 16:11) It can also come from God's presence in us. In Acts we are told, “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52) In fact, the experience of joy feels like that of being filled. (Romans 15:13) Or one's heart being filled to the point where it overflows. And it often overflows into shouting or singing with joy. In Psalm 5, it says, “But let all who take shelter in you rejoice. Let them ever sing for joy, because you spread protection over them; and let those who love your name exult in you.” (Psalm 5:11) Paul says, “And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord...” (Ephesians 5:18-19)

But joy can be quiet and gentle. Have you ever seen or experienced an act so good, so noble that you were moved to silent tears of joy? Or have you seen something so beautiful that your heart swelled with joy? That is how a close encounter with God affects us. We respond to God with joy because his goodness is overwhelming.

People often feel this joy when they have gone through a terrible experience only to find God's grace there. This can be bad behavior on their part as we see in Psalm 32: “When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain all day long. For day and night you tormented me; you tried to destroy me in the intense heat of summer. Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, 'I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord.' And then you forgave my sins. For this reason every one of your faithful followers should pray to you while there is a window of opportunity. Certainly when the surging water rises, it will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you protect me from distress. You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance.” (Psalm 32:3-7)

Or the experience can be an illness or a disaster. Today's psalm is talking about the return of the captives from 70 years of exile in Babylon. They describe coming back as being in a dream-like state. It feels too good to be true. But it is true and they giggle and laugh and shout and sing with joy. Their reversal is so extreme the psalmist says, “Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.”

But once back, they had the hard task of rebuilding their devastated land. That's what Isaiah is addressing in today's lectionary passage. He is giving encouragement. And Jesus begins his ministry by reading the first couple of sentences of this prophesy. It is his mission statement. He too is building his kingdom. And he does it by focusing on the people whose needs have to be addressed. Thus to the oppressed he brings good news. And what can that news be other than the end of their oppression? This is a theme that runs through Scripture, right back to the Torah where the Israelites were told not to oppress their fellow citizens (Leviticus 25:17) nor their slaves, nor resident foreigners. (Deuteronomy 24:14) For those who are relatively powerless the end of their oppression is definitely something to be joyful about.

The next bit of good news is that God through Jesus will bind up the brokenhearted. The Hebrew word for “bind up” essentially means “to bandage or heal.” Those whose spirits were broken by misfortune or malicious actions against them receive the news that God will put them back together and heal them as something to be joyful about.

Next we are told that God through Christ is proclaiming liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners. The original audience saw themselves as captives to the Babylonians. The word translated “prisoners” literally means “those who are bound or tied up.” The word translated “release” is literally “opening” meaning opening the prison doors. And the word rendered “liberty” literally means “running free.” When Jesus read this passage, he meant not repatriation of exiles but the release of those captive to sin. Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) And indeed we all find ourselves bound to keep repeating the same destructive and self-destructive actions. To be released from this painful cycle of always doing the wrong thing is something to rejoice over.

Finally, we are told that the Anointed is proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. We should take the word “proclaim” as a royal proclamation and the image is that of the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25) Twice each century land in Israel sold in the intervening 49 years reverted back to the original family or tribe. Those who sold themselves into slavery to pay off debts were also freed. (Of course, they could always be bought back from slavery by a relative, who is called a redeemer.) So the year of the Lord's favor or goodwill was a a year of restoration of things to how they should be and therefore a joyous one.

Jesus stops reading at this point, not mentioning “the day of vengeance for our God,” because that is not his mission this time. He is not delivering judgment but offering grace. The day will come to settle accounts and bring justice but this is not that day. This is a day of celebration and joy.

Of all of our readings this week, only the gospel doesn't explicitly mention joy. However this Sunday does have an alternate reading we could use in place of our psalm: the Magnificat, the song of Mary. We usually think of this as a joyful song, and it is, but think of the circumstances preceding it. Mary is pledged to be married to Joseph but is not actually wed to him yet. She gets pregnant despite the fact she and Joseph haven't slept together. Matthew tells us Joseph planned to divorce her albeit quietly. Luke doesn't mention Joseph's thoughts, yet immediately after reporting that Gabriel told Mary that she would bear God's son, he writes, "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth." An unwed girl with a mysterious pregnancy suddenly leaves town and goes to live with a relative? It sounds like Mary's family was sending her away to hide what they thought of as a scandal. Perhaps they didn't believe her. Certainly Joseph didn't believe her...until an angel reveals the truth to him in a dream. But in the meantime, Mary is facing life as a poor single mother in an honor/shame culture. So she must have been very down. Perhaps she was even doubting that God was behind all this. Why would he let this happen to her?

And then Elizabeth tells her, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." And that affirmation from her relative, who also has a miraculous pregnancy, is just the thing Mary needs at that time. Elizabeth's words trigger a sudden swing from despair to joy and Mary sings, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Notice she sings of the same themes of restoration we were looking at, with those who are powerless and oppressed receiving justice from our gracious Lord.

Mary's joy is sustained when Joseph tells her he believes her and takes her as his wife. Even though townspeople probably gossiped about Jesus' paternity his whole life, Mary remembers the joy of this moment and the words the Spirit gave her and she tells them to Luke when he researches his gospel. Being able to find joy in what God is doing even in the midst of adversity is a lesson we can all learn from Mary.

Therefore Paul tells us to “rejoice always.” In Advent we highlight Jesus' first arrival on earth as well as his second coming, and the mood is one of expectation. But as we are told throughout the New Testament, he could come at time, not just in this season of the year. So we should live with that fact always in the back of our mind and always as a factor in how we conduct our lives. If a loved one was expected to come home at any moment you would not slack off and not have things prepared for his or her arrival. Their room would be ready, their favorite foods in the pantry, their gifts would be wrapped, and you would be ready to drop anything at a moment's notice and greet them. And the fact that the time they would appear was getting closer would keep you in a state of joyful anticipation. You would be humming the tunes that reminded you of them and savoring the moment when you will hear their car pull up, or hear their knock. And you would run to them, jump into their arms, kiss and hug them, and you would not be ashamed to cry or to grin and giggle like an idiot. And that's how we should look forward to Jesus' return. The gray days will be over. The daily grind of our lives will grind to a halt at last. All our problems will be dealt with, all our mourning will cease and every tear will be wiped away by his hands, bearing the scars of his love. I can't wait.