It's the third week of Advent and I want to share some thoughts about the scripture readings set for the Third Sunday - over the last few weeks I have looked at Psalm 80, and I have reflected on the quality of being patient.
This week's Advent Sunday has a name, as well as a number. Week One of Advent it is Hope that traps the spotlight, and in week Two, Peace is the theme. This week, the name says it all:
GAUDETE
It means Rejoice, and it comes from the Latin Introit chant, a direct quote in fact from Paul's letter to the Philippians,
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! (Phil 4:4)
Some might say that it is easy for the Apostle to say, but he hasn't had to live my life in 2020 - actually I would not be so eager to swap places with Paul - he had a tough life.
This verse is a command - Rejoice. Can we really rejoice when things seem to be so terrible? Many of you readers would have heard me in my Facebook live chats reading from Henri Nouwen's book Turn my mourning into Dancing that I shared with you at the start of the first Lockdown in April and May of this year. I found a quote by Nouwen on another blog about the difference between joy and happiness.
"Joy is essential to spiritual life. Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit. Jesus reveals to us God's love so that his joy may become ours and that our joy may become complete. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing — sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death — can take that love away.
Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God's love for us. We are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together. That isn't easy to understand, but when we think about some of our deepest life experiences, such as being present at the birth of a child or the death of a friend, great sorrow and great joy are often seen to be parts of the same experience. Often we discover the joy in the midst of the sorrow. I remember the most painful times of my life as times in which I became aware of a spiritual reality much larger than myself, a reality that allowed me to live the pain with hope. I dare even to say: 'My grief was a place where I found joy.' Still, nothing happens automatically in the spiritual life. Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us."
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/reviews/excerpts/view/14116
So I am going to focus on one of the Lectionary readings for last Sunday and that is 1 Thes. 5:16-24 and in particular verse 16.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
The Greek, if translated directly renders verse 16 as Always rejoice. Placing the evidence on the word ALWAYS. An impossible ask? It depends on what is the reason and the source for the joy. As Henri pointed out, it is actually possible to have both Joy and grief at the same time. Having joy doesn't require us to always put a "smile on our dial" - joy is not jollity - cheerful and smiling. We should not have to manufacture joy, we should not fake it, as is suggested by Anna to son, Michael in the Musical The King and I - "Whistle a happy time. "
While shivering in my shoes, I strike a careless pose, and whistle a happy time and no-one will suppose I'm afraid. The result of this deception is very strange to tell, because when I took the people I fear I fool myself as well. (Rogers and Hammerstein; the King and I)
I don't think that God wants us to "make believe" - the joy we have is a real joy, and who needs counterfeits if you can lay your hands on the real thing. Coca-Cola may be very nice refreshing drink, but it is not the "the real thing" - the real thing is what is bubbling up inside our spirits - Joy, If we don't have it, we can't make it.
When I was a little boy, I think one of the first Sunday School songs I learnt was "Joy, Joy, Joy" - complete with actions of course. Watch this YouTube video of the song.
"My sins are all forgiven, I am on my way to heaven". Some might say, it's very simplistic - Hey, it's a children's song! I am not going to get into that discussion now. I think, whether the composer intended it or not, it reflects the truth that Henri Nouwen expressed when he explained that joy comes from knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God and nothing can take that love away - in that sense, we are on our way to heaven!
When genuine joy is present in our hearts, our lips will praise God. What joy filled young Mary's heart as the realisation grew that she was carrying in her womb the Christ-child, the long awaited Messiah. Now, I do not know to what extent this truth was grasped, but she did understand, it would seem the importance of the child that would be born to her. We should not underestimate the fears Mary must have felt at this stage of being seen as unwed mother, having no idea how Joseph, her betrothed would react to finding out that she was "with child" It was a great mark of shame for a woman to become pregnant when she was not married. But the knowledge that she was bearing this special child was bound to give her the necessary reassurance that everything would work out fine for her. This is why she could sing.
Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
My soul magnifies the Lord - How can we express that in a modern way? - My heart is full to the brim with God and I rejoice in God my saviour.
We cannot make God bigger than God already is - but we can see the bigness of God - and knowing the bigness of God, we can rejoice, even in very intense and difficult circumstances. The rest of the song talks about God cares about the little people, those who in the world would be labelled as nobodies.
The reading from Isaiah read in may churches says that God engraves (ratios) our names into his hands. God's hands are that huge that the names of every person can be tattooed in God's hands.
I hope that you have enjoyed this discussion - I would love to know from you, if you have time:
- What were the songs that you were taught as a young child that have stayed with you through the decades. Why is that song special?
- Have you ever felt those "mixed feelings of Sadness and joy at the same time?
- Do you feel like you are on your way to heaven? Why or why not?
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