Blogging Towards the First Sunday of Advent: December 3, 2023
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Luke 1:1-23
This year we’re again using a curriculum created by the theo-artists of A Sanctified Art. The series is focused onhow the Gospel of Luke begins the story of Jesus. It interweaves Christ’s birth with the parallel story of Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John the Baptist. As the ASA team writes, in these borth stories “told side by side, we saw the full scope of human emotions: isolation, fear, disbelief, as well as connection, trust, and joy. We acknowledged that the Christmas season is often an emotionally-charged time when we feel many things deeply —sometimes all at once. Many experience emotional dissonance in the midst of joy-filled carols and festivities.”
Joy is often a companion to many other emotions. We can feel joy in addition to feeling many other things at once: grief, anticipation, anxiety, excitement, disappointment, exhaustion. Perhaps many of us live with the myth that joy is not something we deserve—or that it is wholly out of reach. But our joy is rooted in the truth that we belong to God. Can you tether yourself to that deep truth? You deserve to feel joy—fully. The world needs your joy, even if you are weary. Our joy is better when it is shared. This theme of course alludes to a line in the familiar Christmas hymn, “O Holy Night,” which has an interesting
history. The song was originally written by a French poet who was atheist, and the music was supplied by a Jewish composer. The hymn was later translated into English by an American Unitarian minister. In the 1800s, it became a popular hymn for Christian abolitionists due to its justice-focused language in verse 3. Like Mary’s song, the hymn reminds us that justice and joy belong together. Sometimes our joy is an act of resistance.
And so, this Advent, we will hold space for our weariness and our joy. We will seek a “thrill of hope” in our hurting world. We will welcome joy—even and especially if, like the prophet Isaiah, we cry out for comfort (Isaiah 40:1). In this weary world, may we find many ways to rejoice.
As Advent begins, we start by acknowledging the weariness, grief, rage, and hopelessness we carry—and we also affirm that we are made for joy. Joy is designed to live in a full house of other emotions. We start the season with Zechariah and Elizabeth; they have battled infertility and have lived many years steadfast in their faith. Perhaps they feel the weight of hopes and dreams unattained. The angel comes to Zechariah with a promise of good news, but Zechariah can’t fully receive it, and he is cast into silence for the duration of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Sometimes weariness can harden us and prevent us from living fully. We’ve had hard journeys. Grief has left a scar on us. This is how we show up to Advent. Let us acknowledge the ways we, too, are hardened by disbelief. Like the psalmist, let us ask, “how long?” and plead for restoration.
( Adapted from a sermon guides by Rev. Cecelia D. Armstrong & Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity| A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.)
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION & EXAMEN:
- What engaged, enraged, or surprised you in the text?
- What is making you weary this year?
- Where have you discovered joy recently?
- What invitation do you hear the Spirit of God speaking
to you – or to us, as a church – to act, speak, be, or change?
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