Advent: Joy

In the third week of Advent, we light the candle of Joy. Joy is not the short-lived happiness we feel; it is a deeper spiritual gift given from God when we believe and put our faith in God.

Now the third week in the book (While We Wait) that I am using to focus my Advent blog this year, is titled “The Wonder of Being Sought.” After last week and remembering that God knows us fully for who we are (even the parts we try to hide from ourselves) and offers us a place to be fully accepted and loved and gives us a place to call home, I could not wait to see what we are told about being sought. The title itself made me think about the fact God is always wooing us, working in us, and pouring Grace over us even when we are unaware (Prevenient Grace).

Honestly, this chapter was hard for me to read not because of the concept, but because of the story the author chose to use and how everything was focused around it.  I find so many Christians, when writing about examples of joy, go to the bible stories in this way: they focus on women who can’t get pregnant and then find joy when they finally do (and this leaves so many groups unable to connect and have questions, me being one). (You can read more about my story in my blog post - Infertility, Adoption, and Choices)
I just think there must be other ways to write about the Joy God gives us, but for now we are going to go with the story used in the book because the message in the book ultimately is really good.

We are given Zachariah and Elizabeth, who we are told in scripture are righteous, yet they have not had children, which means they would have been looked at (by the community) like they had done something wrong in God’s eyes. Knowing they are righteous tells us that people in the world (even very faithful ones) can experience sadness, hardship, or any number of other problems that come with life. People (including family and loved ones) can be mean, harmful, rude, hate-filled and hurtful in life, and this couple felt, as Luke 1:25 tells us Elizabeth says, “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”  
Zachariah and Elizabeth are faith-filled ordinary people with whom God has a relationship through which God sought them out to carry John and to be an integral part of the story of Emmanuel (God with us).  In the book, it is pointed out that “it seems Elizabeth is the first person to realize on her own that Mary is pregnant and the first to proclaim from her own insight that Christ is about to enter the world.” (57)
God is using ordinary people, building relationships, and calling them to do extraordinary things.  God is empowering and equipping them through their relationship to be able to do what God is calling them to do.  The wonder of being sought is often through just being in a relationship God and he makes us extraordinary. Pretty cool!

Let’s go back to Elizabeth proclaiming Christ to Mary.  Why is this possible? Because Elizabeth is who Mary comes to when she finds herself pregnant. When Elizabeth proclaims the pregnancy, she blesses Mary. How many unwed and especially teen mothers today do you think get to hear a blessing over them?

I imagine not only did Mary break out into the song we have in scripture (Luke 1:46-55), but also tears of deep Joy because she is hearing love and acceptance, just like the love God gives us.

You know the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” often said on the playground as kids. Well, this is simply not true.  Words hurt and sometimes stick with you forever.  I have learned it takes approximately 10 kind things to outweigh 1 mean (hateful).  Think about that for a moment.  Are you ever able to take away the mean thing entirely?

James 3:5-6 NLT tells us “In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”  Words, written or spoken, can be so dangerous.  Our author, Mary Lou Redding, writes, “Our words have the power to shape others’ perceptions of themselves in life-changing ways. We can strengthen them to follow God, and in the process experience God’s presence ourselves…. But words also have the power for the opposite effect. They can limit and control.” (61)

Think about Mary when Elizabeth blessed her and proclaimed to her. She experienced God’s love and the feeling of being sought for who she was through Elizabeth’s words.  Throughout the bible we are given examples and blessings we can bestow upon people, but really it boils down to the fact that we should just show love to people with our words.

God seeks us because he loves us and want to always be in relationship with us. God uses us, the ordinary, and makes us extraordinary through that relationship. God blesses us every day with overflowing love and with our relationship with God we find a deep joy.

God wants us to share this joy and love with others, so they have opportunities to meet and experience God’s overflowing Love through us.  Blessing others through our words is a way to do that daily.

My blessing for you today:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.- Amen

Numbers 6:24-26 NRSVUE