Roger Lynn
December 13, 2020
3rd Sunday in Advent
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“Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10) That is the promise of Isaiah. To which we are tempted to respond, “Yeah, right!” Everlasting joy doesn’t seem to be a very likely possibility in these dark times in which we find ourselves. The list of things stacked against it would include: a global pandemic; massive unemployment; social and political upheaval; to say nothing of the personal challenges and disappointments we face on a seemingly daily basis. Everlasting joy, indeed!
But such an attitude, while understandable, would represent a significant failure to look at anything beyond the surface of our existence. It would be to forget that we are people of faith who, by definition, seek to grasp the bigger picture. I am reminded of what Frederick Buechner says about joy. “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect it to – a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeaths it.” (Wishful Thinking) The kind of joy which Isaiah promise is not about what appears to be true when we look with just our eyes. Rather, it is about what is ultimately true because we dare to believe that God makes it so. “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.’ ” (Isaiah 35:4) God is always bringing something new into our world and the promise of this ongoing renewal can serve to counter our exhaustion, our despair, and our hopelessness.
It doesn’t mean we ignore what is going on around us. It simply means that as we become aware of God’s presence in our lives and in our world, as we seek to allow that awareness to seep down into the core of our being, we gain a fresh, new perspective on reality. We discover it is possible to declare with confidence that, “Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, God is at work even now healing the brokenness of our world and bringing new life into the midst of the death which surrounds us.” We can join with Isaiah in believing that a new age is dawning – an age which is defined by joy rather than sorrow, peace rather than conflict, wholeness rather than brokenness, community rather than isolation, love rather than hate, life rather than death. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” (Isaiah 35:6-7) And as this vision of divine extravagance begins to take root in us, rejoicing becomes not only possible but unavoidable. The exuberance of Isaiah begins to bubble to the surface of our lives, and we cannot contain it. “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. . . For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.” (Isaiah 35:1-2&6-7)
And, of course, once we become infused with this joyful perspective we also find ourselves both challenged and empowered to share such joy with the rest of the world. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.” (Isaiah 35:3) God’s abundant work in our world is accomplished through our efforts on God’s behalf. How we live matters – we are the agents God chooses to use to reach the world and make a difference. Returning again to the words of Frederick Buechner, he says, “[Compassion] is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” (Wishful Thinking) Faith always pushes us outward, beyond ourselves. When our connection with God leads us to discover a source of true joy, we also discover a prompting to share that joy with others. To ignore such prompting is to risk losing touch with the joy – not because God will take it away from us, but because sharing it is intrinsically woven into the very fabric of the experience.
And so we come again to where we started. Our faith still calls us to a life which is defined by rejoicing. And our experience in the world continues to challenge the very concept of joy as something irrelevant and contrary to the realities we face. The choice is stark and dramatic – choose joy or choose despair. Either God is working in the world towards the ultimate goal of a transformed and transforming creation, or God isn’t. Either we are called to participate in a vision of life defined by joy and peace and hope and love, or we aren’t. Isaiah chose joy. What will we choose?
“Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10) That is the promise of Isaiah. To which we are tempted to respond, “Yeah, right!” Everlasting joy doesn’t seem to be a very likely possibility in these dark times in which we find ourselves. The list of things stacked against it would include: a global pandemic; massive unemployment; social and political upheaval; to say nothing of the personal challenges and disappointments we face on a seemingly daily basis. Everlasting joy, indeed!
But such an attitude, while understandable, would represent a significant failure to look at anything beyond the surface of our existence. It would be to forget that we are people of faith who, by definition, seek to grasp the bigger picture. I am reminded of what Frederick Buechner says about joy. “Happiness turns up more or less where you’d expect it to – a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy, on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the one who bequeaths it.” (Wishful Thinking) The kind of joy which Isaiah promise is not about what appears to be true when we look with just our eyes. Rather, it is about what is ultimately true because we dare to believe that God makes it so. “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.’ ” (Isaiah 35:4) God is always bringing something new into our world and the promise of this ongoing renewal can serve to counter our exhaustion, our despair, and our hopelessness.
It doesn’t mean we ignore what is going on around us. It simply means that as we become aware of God’s presence in our lives and in our world, as we seek to allow that awareness to seep down into the core of our being, we gain a fresh, new perspective on reality. We discover it is possible to declare with confidence that, “Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, God is at work even now healing the brokenness of our world and bringing new life into the midst of the death which surrounds us.” We can join with Isaiah in believing that a new age is dawning – an age which is defined by joy rather than sorrow, peace rather than conflict, wholeness rather than brokenness, community rather than isolation, love rather than hate, life rather than death. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.” (Isaiah 35:6-7) And as this vision of divine extravagance begins to take root in us, rejoicing becomes not only possible but unavoidable. The exuberance of Isaiah begins to bubble to the surface of our lives, and we cannot contain it. “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. . . For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.” (Isaiah 35:1-2&6-7)
And, of course, once we become infused with this joyful perspective we also find ourselves both challenged and empowered to share such joy with the rest of the world. “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.” (Isaiah 35:3) God’s abundant work in our world is accomplished through our efforts on God’s behalf. How we live matters – we are the agents God chooses to use to reach the world and make a difference. Returning again to the words of Frederick Buechner, he says, “[Compassion] is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” (Wishful Thinking) Faith always pushes us outward, beyond ourselves. When our connection with God leads us to discover a source of true joy, we also discover a prompting to share that joy with others. To ignore such prompting is to risk losing touch with the joy – not because God will take it away from us, but because sharing it is intrinsically woven into the very fabric of the experience.
And so we come again to where we started. Our faith still calls us to a life which is defined by rejoicing. And our experience in the world continues to challenge the very concept of joy as something irrelevant and contrary to the realities we face. The choice is stark and dramatic – choose joy or choose despair. Either God is working in the world towards the ultimate goal of a transformed and transforming creation, or God isn’t. Either we are called to participate in a vision of life defined by joy and peace and hope and love, or we aren’t. Isaiah chose joy. What will we choose?
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