Musical Prelude and Service.

Isaiah 35:1-10 & Luke 1:46-55
I sometimes struggle to articulate the importance of Joy when we approach this Sunday in Advent.
What is Joy? And why is it so crucial in our reflections and preparations for the coming of the Christ
child? For me part of that is actually defining Joy. While the dictionary definition of joy is generally
viewing it as a synonym for happiness, I find that deeply unsatisfying at some point. I can’t help but
think our call to Joy is more than a call to happiness. And this is not meant as a slight to happiness.
I wish everyone the opportunity to express and to experience happiness. But happiness is temporal.
It’s an emotional response to a good experience. And to a great extent that is exactly wat Joy is also.
But when we as a church chose to dedicate a Sunday to reflect on Joy in the news of the birth of
Jesus, I can’t help but think they saw it as something more. Or perhaps I want it to be something
more. Joy to the Earth. Rejoice in the coming of the Lord. What is it we are called to?
Isaiah inserts this prophetic vision of the people rejoicing in the midst of yet more visions of
destruction and misery for the people of Judah. The people; the kingdom, face destruction and
gloom. Incredible suffering is their near future, and yet they are called to rejoice for the wondrous
things God is about to do. Rejoice, for the suffering will come to an end and Judah will be wondrous.
Plants will bloom in the desert and springs of life-giving water will arise. God will do the impossible
where no life typically exists. The world will change, and we are called to be part of that
transformation. Rejoice.
Mary finds herself pregnant. She is asked by the angel Gabriel to be part of this vision of a new world
led by her child. A new beginning for the world. She agrees, but now she faces judgment and an
uncertain future. How will her community respond to a young woman not yet wed showing up
pregnant? How will her betrothed, Joseph, respond to this news?
And so she goes to her cousin Elizabeth, where she is greeted by the joyful response:
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened
to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”
And Mary answers with her song:
“My soul magnifies the Lord. He has done great things for me.”
God will upend the status quo. Those who hold so much power over us will be brought down and we
will be heard. We will be fed. God does not and will not abandon us.
Mary chooses to rejoice in the knowledge of God’s presence and God’s way of working in and
thorough her to change the world.
In my readings and my teachings over the years, I have come to see love as more than an emotion
or feeling. It is more than a reaction to stimuli. Love is a decision; a choice we make in how we relate
to the people in our lives. Love is a decision and it is something we do. We love in our actions and
our decisions in how we treat one another.
I find myself wondering about Joy in a similar way. We make the decision to rejoice; to show joy for
the world to see.
When we are grieving the state of the world. When we are mourning the loss of people and our way
of being in the world; we also experience heart break, sadness, anger, confusion. These responses
are all natural and valid. They are how human beings experience so much of our world. And yet, we
seek ways to emerge from the sorrow and the despair and to make our way into the light of a new
day. And God is always there, offering us a guide and a promise of something new; something
different.
We hear Mary sing God’s praises this morning. In the paragraphs that just proceed this song, her
cousin Elizabeth, herself pregnant with John, a miracle of its own, names Mary blessed among
women. In fact, the Greek word used that is translated as blessed is Makaria. The same word used in
the Beatitudes. It can also be translated Happy.
Happiness and blessing. Despite the inevitable fears and difficulties that await Mary and Elizabeth,
the heartbreak that awaits both mothers; they recognize is God’s work in their lives. They name the
ways that God is active, and the ways that God invites them to work with the Holy.
In a world that celebrates and rewards power and wealth with more power and wealth, Mary
announces that God turns to a young woman; perhaps a child from a small, forgotten village. A girl
with a voice few want to hear and says,
I choose you to help turn this world upside down.
I choose you to raise the Christ who will topple rulers and give a voice to the voiceless.
I choose you to help fulfill my promise of liberation and salvation.
And Mary sings her gratitude – her joy. She rejoices in the way God is at work all around her. She
rejoices that God has not forgotten her or ignored her. And so, as she enters a strange world with an
unknown future. As she copes with the fear and the anxiety that must be a part of her life, she still
has time for joy, for gratitude and for happiness.
I spoke earlier about choosing Joy. I find myself returning time and again to that notion. We have
choices. Choices in how we respond to the world. Choices in how we treat the people we meet along
our journey. As we make our way through Advent, naming the darkness of our world, we also
proclaim that God is once more entering this world to bring light in the person of Jesus the Christ.
We reflect on the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love that come with Jesus. But I find myself
considering that as much as they are gifts, we must choose to open them and then put them to use.
We choose to live in this world with Hope. We choose to work and live for Peace.
We make the decision to love one another. To live lives grounded in Love; for ourselves, for our
neighbours and for God. And we also get to choose to find joy in our lives.
This does not negate the pain, the heartbreak, the anger and the fear that are all a part of our
human experience. But as we look around this world and we see signs of hope; people working to
make lasting peace, and as we witness the loving actions of our families and our community, we can
choose to show our gratitude and take time to rejoice. We choose to be joyful and shine our light in
the darkness. Thanks be to God.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789