Joy

The third Sunday of Advent is all about joy, an emotion, a feeling, a posture that I wouldn’t name as something that comes natural to me. In fact, joy is really difficult for me to even wrap my mind around, let alone figure out how to feel or articulate. I do know that joy isn’t the same as happiness, and I also know that joy is a lasting state of being, a way of existence. I know that joy sustains us, even when we aren’t happy, and especially when are filled with sadness or rage.

Joy is the condition that allowed Julian of Norwich to hear God say to her, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” And it’s the underlying knowledge that, in fact, all shall be well, regardless of our circumstances. This past Sunday’s first reading was from Zephaniah, and while I rarely read the minor prophets—not for any reason, because the prophets are lovely—I found these words to be extremely challenging and comforting:

“The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
he will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.”

According to Zephaniah, God sings joyfully because of us, and God rejoices over us with gladness. I love those images, and I’d like to keep thinking about us singing joyfully because of each other and rejoicing over each other with gladness. I am willing to believe that this may change our world. As we wait for Jesus to become real in this world on Christmas, we can be the light in the darkness, we can bring the joy, and we can provide hope. The first two lines of the quote above say that God is already in our midst, as a mighty savior, providing a feeling of safety and security.

Joy is a way of existing. Joy will sustain us.