Advent Week 3 // JOY

This is the third week of Advent.  Today we light the two purple candles and one pink candle.  The first week we lit the candle of HOPE.  Last week we lit the candle of PEACE.  Today, we light a different color candle, the candle of JOY.

(Light the first, second and, third candles)

What type of moments come to your mind when you think of joy?
What does the expression of joy look like to you?

I (Art) think most would consider the birth of a child (or its announcement) as one of the most consistent events in life to bring a joyful response.  The birth of Christ is no exception.

The Shepherds

Following moments of terror as they were visited by an angel(s) (Luke 1:9-20), the shepherds could not contain their joy - glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

The Wise Men

The Magi were overjoyed when they came to the place the star had guided them to. They saw the child, bowed and worshiped. (Matthew 2:9-11)

The Unborn

Luke tells us that even the unborn child (John the Baptist) within Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy when Mary (pregnant with Jesus) walked in the room (Luke 1:44). Who am I to argue with a doctor?

But what of Mary and Joseph?

The responses of Mary (the virgin mother of Jesus) and Joseph (the non-biological father), remind us that the announcement of a birth may not produce the same response for everyone.  Faced with a miraculous pregnancy and supernatural conception, the expression of joy one might have wished for this couple was countered and complicated by the weightiness of questioned morality, potential divorce, a message from God in a dream, angelic visits, and prophetic fulfillments.

I have had the opportunity to be witness to the birth of seven children. Beyond my ability to put it into words, I admire and am thankful for my wife’s perseverance and care through the process of pregnancy and delivery of new life. If I am honest, I must confess to my own fatigue in some of those late night moments waiting through the laboring process (Sorry Meg - I know I wasn’t fooling you.  And while I am confessing to my late night failures, thank you for taking all those middle of the night feedings and putting our babies back to sleep.)

In the absence of scandal, dreams from God, or the weight of prophetic fulfillment, my ability to find and express joy in the birth of our children was an easy experience.

The coming of Christ into this world; however, is a reminder that joy may arrive and be found in different ways.

Despite his conflicting feelings and thoughts about the pregnancy, is it possible Joseph found reassuring joy that came from encountering God’s angelic messenger in a dream, holding fast to the words spoken and believing that what would seem impossible to man, is possible with God?

Did Mary’s encounter with Gabriel produce a calming and strengthening joy in knowing that she could move through her fear, converse with angelic beings (wow), and was capable of living out this epic task?

James (the half brother of Christ) reminds us at the start of his letter to the Jerusalem church - "consider it all joy" (James 1:2).

What are the circumstances or events through which you expect to find joy?  How do you imagine its expression will take form in your life?

As much as I am hopeful we all find joy in the expected places - with exuberant tones, my prayer is that we also find increasing joy through the moments of our lives that have tested our faith, required perseverance, and necessitated overcoming doubt.