There Is Joy

Christmas is near.

You might be checking the daily calendar or have an Advent calendar you’re following. Or maybe, like so many churches, you have an Advent wreath, lighting a candle each Sunday as we approach Christmas Eve and the Big Moment.

If you’re following the wreath, you’ll have noticed that most wreaths have three purple (or blue) candles and one pink one. That pink one is about where we are now, that’s how close.

The reason that candle’s pink is that it’s for the Sunday of Joy or  Gaudete Sunday (that’s church latin for “rejoice”). If you’re following the themes that so often accompany those candles - hope, peace, joy, love - that’s how close we are. So. Bring on the joy.

Well, lots of people started their Merry Christmas a lot earlier than this. Lights are up, decorations, trees, the baking’s happening, Christmas parties, shopping, wrapping, Christmas carols - oh, the Christmas carols - everywhere you look, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Not everyone is merry and bright at Christmas. For lots of people it’s a difficult time. Some are grieving lost loved ones, some are far from family, some lonely. There are people who are sick, who find themselves unemployed or overworked, poor or homeless, some have mental health issues that are complicated by all the sounds and busy crowds. It can be overwhelming.

Thing is, the Christmas story doesn’t offer merriment, celebration or, for that matter, a lot of happiness. In fact, if you count up the number of times an angel has to appear and tell people “don’t be afraid,” it’s a pretty scary story, full of the unexpected, the difficult, the painful, the unwanted even.

But it is full of joy.

Sure, joy can be celebration, it can have merriment and happiness and smiles and laughter. But it’s more than that. True joy is something that goes to the very core of who we are. It reaches into the deepest corners of our hearts, into the shadowy places, and brings light.

I believe that true joy is found in the moment in which we find God, however we know God (love, energy, connection and more) is present in our lives in a way that brings wholeness to our spirit. Yes, there may be happiness, there may also be a sense of rightness, connectedness, wellness. But there is also healing in brokenness, comfort in grief, hope in uncertainty and, deep within us, the knowing that we are loved just as we are and, most importantly, we are not alone.

Remember what the angel says to the shepherds? They say “don’t be afraid, I bring you news of great joy for everyone.” That news? Love is here. Long before, the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah prophesied that there will be a child who will be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” This child will grow up to show us how the divine spirit is in us, everyone. That spirit is joy, too.

The story of Christmas plays out in a world full of struggle, danger and fear. There are the poor and the weak, there are the powerful and the seemingly rich, kings and shepherds and angels. But there is joy. Love is here.