“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
~ Luke 1:46b-55 (NRSVUE)
Friends, I wonder, when you think of joy, what comes to mind? Someone with a big smile on their face, perhaps? Or a person laughing? Maybe someone dancing or acting silly or just having fun. Well, this morning, when our Advent visitor came to bring us our candle of Joy, I commented, “I know you!” Now, I don’t know how many of you have seen the Disney Pixar movie Inside Out, which came out several years ago, or Inside Out 2, which came out this past summer, but our Advent Visitor today was the character Joy from those movies.
Each of the Inside Out movies gives us a front-row seat as to how our emotions work together–or not–and how they affect the way we create memories. The Joy character always thinks that all that matters is that people are happy because then all of our memories will be happy, and life will be good. But Joy begins to learn that real memories aren’t just about being happy; they’re about being present, even if that means that we sometimes experience sadness, anger, fear, or disgust. Now, those moments might not be considered happy memories, but they become deeply treasured memories because they are ultimately built on the foundation of real life and inner joy.
Folks, fairy tales, unicorns, rainbows, and lollipops all make us happy, but we need to experience a balance of all of our emotions to experience true joy. I like the example that the Gift of Joy gave us this morning about the cupcake because we tend to think that the sugary sweetness of life is what gives us joy. But it’s really the foundation, the eggs and the flour in the cupcake, like our faith and trust in God, that we stand on, and being present to the world around us because experiencing Joy is not the same as being happy. Joy is so much more than happiness. Feeling happy is just a temporary reaction to what is happening around us. Happiness comes and goes as the circumstances around us change. Joy, on the other hand, is inside of us, and it only deepens through changing circumstances.
Our faith tells us that Joy looks beyond what is happening here and now and reframes our present situation in the light of God’s infinite grace, enabling us to experience whatever life sends our way with trust and confidence in God. Unlike joy, happiness disappears in the face of pain and struggle. Many of our great lessons in life are learned by reflecting on our difficult personal experiences. Joy helps us to put things into perspective and to remember what is really important.
Now, even though some of us may be experiencing deep sadness, frustration, and grief because of loss or difficult circumstances in our lives, the Good News is that God’s grace is deeper still. And when we gather together during the Advent season, we are called to celebrate with joy God’s presence among us because God is with us no matter where we are or how difficult the circumstances of our lives might be.
Let’s face it: if we really think about the Christmas story, we find that, on that first Christmas, Mary’s circumstances were not exactly perfect either. But even in the midst of lives that were less than perfect, we see the central characters in the Christmas story choosing JOY!
If you remember the whole story, Joseph did not respond very well to the report that his fiancé was pregnant at first. He actually made plans to divorce her, until the angel came and assured him that everything would be okay. That’s when Joseph decided to put all of his worries and concerns aside and to just be present for Mary. And Mary was in a tough spot, too! She was a young teen, pregnant, and unmarried. She would surely be judged, outcast, and possibly even put to death. Life was not going to be easy for Mary. She had a lot that she could have complained about and even become depressed about. However, what Mary had was more important to her than what she did not have. You see, Mary had a fervent faith in God. She trusted God with her whole being and knew that God would never leave her.
Just before today’s scripture reading, Mary, knowing that she is with child, travels to see her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary arrived, Elizabeth gave her the greatest gift of all; Elizabeth was present to Mary. She listened to her and offered her a safe space to tell her story. Mary shared her story aloud, which she had been unable to do anywhere else. She was so filled with JOY that she sang her song–the Magnificat–saying, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name.”
Folks, In just a few minutes, during the offering, Jim and Bruce are going to share with us the song titled “Mary Did You Know.” The song is filled with questions, such as, Mary, did you know that Jesus will walk on water? Did you know that he’ll save our sons and daughters? Did you know that he has come to make things new and that he will soon deliver you? Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man? And that he will calm the storm with his hand? That he has walked where angels trod? And that when you kiss his face, you kiss the face of God?
My friends, Mary sang out her Magnificat–her song of joy–not because she knew those things, and not because her life was easy or she felt happy, but because she knew that no matter what happened around her, no matter how much she was judged by society, no matter how difficult things became, no matter how frightened she sometimes felt, no matter what emotions she experienced, and no matter how out of control her life and the world around her seemed, she knew that God loved her unconditionally!
Friends, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again: not a Sunday goes by here in Oldtown, nor will a Sunday pass that I am in the pulpit when you will not be reminded that God loves you unconditionally. I know that sometimes life is hard. I know that we are sometimes surrounded by grief and overwhelmed by pain. I know that we turn on the television and we hear of horrific tragedies and acts of violence and injustice. I know that sometimes it’s hard to pay our bills and make ends meet. I know that there are hungry and homeless families right here in North Attleboro. And I know that sometimes even our friends and our families–the people who we love the most–hurt us and cause us pain, and sometimes we do the same in return. But I also know that through it all, through all of our struggle and difficulty and frustration, because of the baby that was born in the stable in Bethlehem long ago, there is always hope, and we always have the opportunity to choose joy.
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, as you go out into your busy week ahead, as you face the holiday traffic and feel short on time and patience, remember that JOY comes from within, that it is about being present. It’s about having faith in God. It’s about knowing that you are loved unconditionally, and it’s about being like Mary and allowing your heart to sing and rejoice. So let us sing our joy-filled songs of Christmas and ring our bells in celebration as we share the good news of Jesus with the world!!
May it be so. Thanks be to God! Amen!
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