Advent Joy

The wilderness and the dry land

shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom

abundantly

and rejoice with joy and shouting.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD,

the majesty of our God.

Isaiah 35

The third Sunday in our Advent journey rolls around. Before we consider JOY, how’s your HOPE and your PEACE these days? Do you find yourself filled with these most beautiful realities of the Kingdom of God? Don’t worry yourself if not, not many of us actually do for any prolonged period of time. That’s why we need so many reminders that help us sustain our lives in God. Otherwise, we risk drifting or sleepwalking into the many other options the world offers us, all of which may seem appealing at the time but will consistently fail to offer the fullness of life we find in Christ.

The beauty of this season rolling back around again is the reminder of the Divine putting on flesh, of Holiness breathing, walking, sleeping and eating amongst us, becoming like us so that we can become like Him.

So, this week we turn our gaze towards JOY.

We use the word in the context of happiness and in connection with positive circumstances that evoke such feelings and emotions. Joy is often regarded in such a simple manner, and one that is all too often quite fleeting. I wonder what makes us feel joyful. Perhaps it’s having enough, enough to eat and good place to live; beauty brings joy too, whether we’re immersed in nature, eating a lovingly prepared meal or listening to our favourite piece of music, this all brings joy. What about people, they can be joy-bringers. When my own son Nate was just a wee fella, his normal ‘resting face’ was one of pure joy, he was always smiling, we called him a little joy-bomb!

The danger for us during this season is that we can attach joy to the circumstances surrounding our Advent (preparation) and then Christmas itself (feasting). What if it doesn’t all go to plan? What if we wreck the turkey or little Joey doesn’t like his presents? What if there simply isn’t enough money to host the perfect Christmas of our dreams? What if we get that life-changing call from the doctor and the diagnosis we’ve been fearing becomes a reality? What if we completely breakdown at the food bank we volunteer at, feeling such despair at the level of brokenness in people’s lives and in our communities?

What happens when our circumstances just aren’t reasons to be joyful?

Perhaps there’s an invitation here somewhere, to enter the glorious beauty of what the Biblical writers present as JOY, God’s idea of JOY.

JOY is a theme that runs through the over-arching narrative of scripture – in Genesis we find God rejoicing in what He had made, Creation by its very nature rejoices, and people rejoicing in God for His glory, provision, care, love and guidance. But the people of God throughout the Bible don’t always live in this permanent state of rejoicing. In the wilderness they are disheartened and spend much time complaining to Moses, their joy being tied to their circumstance.

What might happen if our JOY became more about a state of being than a response to our circumstances? If the JOY of the LORD truly is our strength (Neh 8:10), then it must be more than our human response to what is happening around us, the situations we find ourselves in, or the hand that life has dealt us. How can we move from attaching our sense of well-being to physical things, to attaching our sense of well-being to God, who God is, and who we are in God?

Paul found contentment in all circumstances (pause reading here, go and read Philippians 4). Paul writes about having little, having much; being hungry and being well fed; and rejoicing always! He mentions a kind of exchange that happens when we humbly come before the LORD in thanksgiving, then the peace of God that cannot be explained or understood, will be a guard on our hearts. Perhaps it’s this guard, the receiving of God’s peace that allows Paul to rejoice through all circumstances. Paul says he’s learned the secret, and that is that he can do all things through Christ who gives him strength.

There’s something here about how we navigate this Advent season. These four themes – HOPE, PEACE, JOY & LOVE – are central facets of being in Christ, central to the overall narrative of scripture, and central to the mission and life of Jesus.

Isaiah 35 carries on from the passage mentioned at the start, with themes and metaphors of abundance in dry, barren, desert places: weak hands are strengthened, courage is bestowed on the fearful, eyes of the blind are opened, the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sings for JOY; a way is made for the people of God, it is the  Holy Way and the redeemed shall walk it with a song in their hearts, everlasting JOY shall be on their heads…and sorrow shall flee from them.

This is possibly the central theme of the Bible, behold! God is making all things new. It is evident from Genesis through to the Exodus, to the giving of the law, to the beauty and pain of the Psalms, through the lives of the Prophets, to the Incarnation and life, death and resurrection of Jesus, to the birth of the Church and to future wonder, awe, love and grace! You can see it in Jesus’ miracles, in the Sermon on the Mount, in his use of Isaiah  61 in the synagogue, and you can see in from the Cross and words he spoke; you can see it through his post-resurrection interactions with his friends and disciples…..Jesus is all about restoration, about bringing people back into the heart of God, and then helping them navigate the brokenness desecration of our world by continuing his message out in the world.

JOY (alongside HOPE, PEACE & LOVE) is not reduced to simply feelings or emotions; it is a state of being that occurs beyond our understanding, and when we rejoice always, pray and give thanks continually, show love, kindness and service to others, and dwell in deep, rich union with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, this gift of JOY grows within the dry and weary landscape of our hearts

Grace and peace to you, may you discover a boundless JOY in Christ this Advent.

Jon   

Jon Timms

Joint CEO, Rural Ministries