Joy

 Advent III

December 13, 2009

 Zephaniah 3:14-20;  Isaiah 12:2-6;  Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:7-18

“Joy to the World” says the familiar Christmas carol.  The thing is, the carol is based upon Psalm 98 and is not really intended to be about the birth of Jesus at all.  ‘Sing to Lord’, invites the psalmist, ‘for the Lord has done marvelous things.  Make a joyful noise all the earth; including instruments made by human hands as well as the jubilant music of creation.  All is done in joyful anticipation of the Lord who comes to judge, [yes judge] the earth…with righteousness and with equity’.  That is reason to rejoice: to have a judge and ruler who is a joy to receive and be with. The psalm invites us to rejoice in the approach of God, who comes in goodness, in which there is hope and shalom and all fear is cast out while justice is a certainty and a relief.

That is not the case of typical human perspective toward the mighty and powerful, toward those who would make judgement over us:

            “Here comes da judge.  Here comes da judge. You better look out ‘cuz here comes da judge.” 

Or, “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I’m telling you why… He sees you when you’re sleeping,  …when you’re awake.... If you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!” 

Or, “Be careful little hands…eyes, feet, ears, tongue…For the Father up above is looking down….so be careful”

Fearfulness is a primary human response, perhaps from our reptilian heritage, or perhaps fear is a reality of “falleness”.  The story of  “The Fall” in Genesis suggests that the first response in the fallen state was fear and shame (Genesis 3:10).  God became a fearsome reality.  Authority and authoritative hierarchy was a result of “The Fall” according to Genesis. And so humanity has become fearful of police, judges, principals, bosses, and many other authority figures as if they were there to “get us”, and we deserve it.   Although our human interpretations on scripture and God have instilled a sense of fear of God, (“the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”), scripture’s intent is to invite us to stand in awe of God’s goodness, God’s marvelous actions, that God is to be trusted and not to be feared.  How many times messengers of God, or the very voice of God declares, “Don’t be afraid!... I am with you.”

The scripture for today’s reading invites us to enter God’s joy and put away past fears, to share in the delight of God, in being the delight of God.  Both Hebrew and Christian scripture invite the joy and renewal found in God’s good presence of justice and restoration.

Zephaniah, a prophet in a time of needed reform, who was able to see that religious reform happen through the kingship of young Josiah, spoke of “the day of the Lord” which could be received as frightening news as many heard it, OR, as an invitation to begin again, turning and returning to a God of grace.  Zephaniah’s words that sound judgmental are not without hope for transformation.  His words are about “religious renewal-not otherworldly renewal, but one where this world will come to reflect God’s vision of a world without violence, injustice, and oppression, a world where even God may sing in response to human singing, (Zeph 3:17)” Kent Harold Richard (HarperCollins Study Bible on Zephaniah).

“Rejoice and exult with all your heart… you shall fear disaster no more…Do not fear…The LORD, your God, is in your midst…he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love…” 

Joy to the world! The Lord comes to make all things new!

Isaiah, the prophet who may have been a mentor to Zephaniah, writes encouragement and invitation to listeners who are in the midst of despair and  difficult times of loss and shame; of anxiety for past failures and future consequences.  He says,

            “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid…for the LORD God             has become my salvation…  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…  Shout aloud and sing for joy…for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Joy to the world! The Lord comes to make all things new!

 

From a prison cell, the Apostle Paul writes a joy-filled letter to his brothers and sisters at the church in Philippi.  Without any notion of how eminent his own death may have been, he writes encouragement to live in joy rather than in fear.  The peace of God will guard both hearts and minds in Christ when we trust God with our concerns and our grateful hearts, and joy will be ours even if imprisoned or uncertain about the days ahead. 

            “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. …the Lord is near.  Do not             worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”   

Joy to the world! The Lord comes to make all things new!

For Zephaniah, Isaiah, and Paul, words of encouragement, hope, and joy-filled delight is present for those who trust in God’s nearness.  And then there is John, the Baptizer.  Past renderings has made him out to be a kind of wild, scary man, ranting away like a street corner dooms day preacher.  Tradition suggests that John was perhaps very young (his old parents may have died when he was still young) when he entered into the Essene Community.  This was perhaps an early form of the monastic tradition wherein members separate themselves from much of the “stuff” of the world in order to pay attention to God; to be a mirror in order for the world to pay attention to itself. 

John’s words in the reading for today do not sound joy-filled.  Judgment and condemnation seem to scream from the Baptizer.  So what was the lure that drew so many people to come, to hear and see and be baptized by him.  Were they all motivated by fear?  Did John teach us to fear God who is out to get us?  It seems that there was something attractive, something hopeful, and not so fearful about John that so many came to him in an out of the way place.  “As the people were filled with expectation” says the gospel writer (15).  “…He proclaimed the good news to the people” (v.18).  What gave people hope, expectation?  What was the “good news” that they heard?  Perhaps it was that there was an invitation to begin again, to turn and return again to God who loved them.  Perhaps it was that no one was excluded from this returning to God.  It was possible not only for the religious do-gooders, but also for those who thought they had no chance to ever be found within God’s good grace.  ‘Share your clothing.  Share your food. Don’t hoard.  Be honest in your job.  Put intimidation and violence away.   Be content with who and what you are’.  Rich and poor, despised tax collectors, even Roman soldiers had a chance to begin again, and they did not have to switch jobs or be stuck in the past or feel guilty about who and what they were.

While we may read John’s words, “You brood of vipers”  harshly, his overall words were an invitation toward transformation; to begin again, to move from being stuck in hopelessness to taking steps in faith, to open new spaces toward becoming what God had intended.  John invited repentance, turning again toward God who was always turning toward them, and us.   This is good news.  I imagine joy was the response of the soldiers and tax collectors when they heard that they were not men condemned by God.  Joy.  The Lord makes all things possible.  Yes this is the Lord who comes to judge not in fearful ways, but with justice; with righteousness and equity.  This Holy One comes and joy is ours. We need not fear.  We simply are invited to return to the One who comes near.

 

Joy to the World, the Lord is come.  …Let heaven and nature sing!

“God of life, bless our days
 Keep us alive and in love. Keep us listening.
 Keep us growing, Mother-God. Keep drawing us closer to you.
 
Help our words, Father-God, not get in the way of your Spirit.
 Help the words we use not become too many or too confusing.
 Our faith, Holy One, is in you and not in any words or in any teaching.
 We just want these words to open us up to you and to your Spirit among us.
 
Help us not to be afraid of Jesus,
 the companion you have given us for our journey toward you.
 As St. Bernard prayed, "Jesus, our Lord, you are honey in our mouth.
 You are music in our ear. You are a leap of joy in our heart."
 Amen.      from  Richard Rohr, Radical Grace