A Word from Pastor Lisa: When Part of Your J-O-Y is Missing
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
–Psalm 30:11-12 (NRSV)
Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse has a neighbor with 10-foot-tall letters spelling J-O-Y in the yard. She tweeted a photo this week with the “J” fallen over, leaving just “O-Y,” and she tagged it #2020.
Oy! This has been a difficult year. It has felt like part of our joy is missing for sure. A healthy practice for me has been to spend time naming the specific loss of joy. At first, that grief was very material (e.g. loss of a vacation), but as this pandemic has drawn on, that grief has become much more relational (e.g. loss of time with people I love). As I’m able to name that loss, I can also hand it over to God and find relief in knowing God is bearing that burden with me. That gives me space to turn my attention to all of the good things God has given me.
That’s what joy is all about – recognizing the good things God has given us, no matter the circumstances. In the throes of grief, the psalmist sings to God, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy!” I’ve been privileged to walk alongside many faithful saints who have exhibited incredible peace in difficult times because they have cultivated a deep prayer life and remained opened to the fruit of the Spirit.
While happiness comes and goes based on our external situation, joy is “the experience of knowing you are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death – can take that love away,” writes Henri Nouwen. Joy has plenty of room for loss, grief, anger, heartache, betrayal, depression, and despair. Joy doesn’t repress, avoid, or deny. “Joy can wrap its arms around the full spectrum of human experience,” says Rob Bell. “It can handle it all. Joy is an entirely different way of viewing the fabric of the universe.”
What it would mean in this Advent season of preparing for Jesus to allow our lives to be infused with this type of joy? The third week in Advent is focused on joy. We light the pink candle of the Advent wreath because it is Gaudete Sunday, which means “rejoice” in Latin. In this time of waiting and preparation, we pause for a moment to celebrate the joy and gladness promised in the redemption of Jesus. His birth means that God becomes human and dwells with us, and his death and resurrection mean we humans will forever dwell with God. This is our source of joy.
Last year I mentioned that “Joy to the World” is actually an Easter hymn, not a Christmas carol. While we will still sing it on Christmas Eve, the focus of the carol is actually on the resurrection of Jesus and the promised hope of new heaven and a new earth. As we wait in the between-times, we seek to recognize all the good things God has given us, no matter our circumstances, so that the joy of Jesus may be in us, and our joy may be complete (John 15:11).