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The theme for this Advent season at Lakewood United Church of Christ is JOY to the World. Each day during the Advent season, a reflection on a scripture passage related to JOY will be posted. We hope these daily reflections help you to have a joy-filled Advent.

The realm of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in joy goes and sells everything and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44, adapted

This is a beautiful image of the worth and value of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The new reality that Jesus images for us is of vast worth. But what we also see in this verse, brief but heavily laden with meaning, is the significance of joy. Joy motivates the person to sell everything. Joy compels the person to give up all material possessions. Every single thing. Not some. Not half. Not most. All. One version tells us, “he goes and sells all that he has.” Another version tells us, “went and sold all their possessions.” The person who is drawn in by the gospel experiences joy; such great joy, that it motivates this drastic action, the selling of all possessions. Here we see joy as a very powerful force. It is so powerful that it leads to what can be considered radical, really unreasonable, behavior.

In this holiday season, we sing songs about joy and send cards with messages of joy. But how much difference do we expect joy to make in our lives? Do we simply expect a warm feeling of well-being? When we send a Christmas card proclaiming “JOY to the World” are we associating this with drastic, radical, extreme behavior as we see in the verse above from Matthew?

Maybe we have dumbed down joy, to a ho ho ho holly, jolly sentiment to be associated with hot chocolate and mistletoe. The birth of Jesus bringing JOY to the World is meant to be so much more powerful than that. It is meant not only to be life changing, but to be world changing. Experiencing more joy this holiday season may lead to strange, extreme behavior. Are you ready for a joy-full Advent-ure?

Prayer
We pray for Joy to the World this Advent season. May we recognize the power of joy to motivate and compel drastic life changing actions. May we embrace the transforming potential of joy. Help us not to be afraid of being joy-full, whatever that may lead to! Amen.

The theme for this Advent season at Lakewood United Church of Christ is JOY to the World. Each day during the Advent season, a reflection on a scripture passage related to JOY will be posted. We hope these daily reflections help you to have a joy-filled Advent.

Rejoice in the Savior always! I say it again: Rejoice! Let everyone see your forbearing spirit. Our Savior is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds; instead, present your needs to God through prayer and petition, giving thanks for all circumstances. Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

Yesterday, we mentioned joy being taken away, or ceasing. There was reference to God’s joy ending, and to God’s people experiencing the cessation of joy. There was the opportunity to consider what can end or stop joy.

In the scripture passage above, the writer, Paul, talks about joy. Paul has seen many hardships including poverty and imprisonment. He has a sketchy past to look back on. He has had his share of successes and failures in his mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We might say that Paul has seen it all, good and bad. And in this letter to the Christian community at Philippi, a letter written from prison, Paul mentions joy and rejoicing 16 times!

The implication here is that joy is possible in all circumstances. Paul implies that joy can be constant regardless of outward happenings. It is possible to rejoice always. When we think about joy and nature, we see that this is the case. Mountains, rivers, plants, animals, and all of nature convey joy by being what they are meant to be. Simply by existing and fulfilling their part in the grand design of the universe, they rejoice. With people, joy can get more complex. It is not quite as easy for us to simply fulfill our intended purpose in the vast scheme of the cosmos. And yet, Paul implies, that we, too, can still have/be/do joy always.

Can you think about a time when you were going through a rough patch in your life and yet still felt joy? Have you seen joy in someone else at an unexpected moment? Do you think that joy is possible in any and all circumstances? Think about Jesus. Do you think that he always felt joy? Even at the crucifixion? Is the potential for joy always present? Are there ways we can tap into that joy? Is joy a necessary component of faith and God? Do you lean toward the view that joy is always possible, or does the idea that joy can stop or be absent fit your beliefs better?

Prayer
This Advent season amidst much busyness and bustle, may we dismiss all anxiety and trust God giving thanks in all circumstances. As our trust and devotion to God increase, so may our receptivity to joy. This holy season, may we contribute JOY to the world! Amen.

The theme for this Advent season at Lakewood United Church of Christ is JOY to the World. Each day during the Advent season, a reflection on a scripture passage related to JOY will be posted. We hope these daily reflections help you to have a joy-filled Advent.

The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning.
Lamentations 5:15

Gladness and joy have been taken away
from the fruitful land of Moab;
I have stopped the wine from the wine presses;
no one treads them with shouts of joy;
the shouting is not the shout of joy.
Jeremiah 48:33

There are several places in the Hebrew scriptures in which joy ceases. It is taken away. It is gone. Sometimes it is the joy that was experienced by God’s people. Sometimes God’s joy has ended. What causes this end to joy? In the instances in the Old Testament, the cessation of joy is caused by problems in the relationship between God and the faith community. The people have not held up their end of the covenant. They promise things to God and then break their promises. God is angry and hurt and God’s joy ends. We also see the people experiencing pain and suffering which is attributed to God as punishment for their unfaithfulness. In the prophets, the relationship between God and the people of faith is likened to a marriage in which one party is having an affair. It is not God who is unfaithful. When this occurs, the joy of God and the people ceases, is taken away.

One thing that comes to mind here is the idea that God takes joy away from the people. In your concept of God, is there room for God to remove joy? Do you think of God as taking joy away from people? Does this sound like the God of Jesus? Do you think Jesus’ Abba God would take joy away?

This Advent season, we are reflecting on the theme, JOY to the World. This is a season we associate with being merry and bright. A time for jingle and jolly. Yet I am wondering about this idea that joy can stop, can cease. Can you think of a time when joy seemed impossible for you to experience? Is there a circumstance that comes to mind that simply precludes the possibility of joy? Have you known others for whom joy seemed to be absent? Can joy cease? In our lives? In the world? In nature? If so, what can cause that to happen? Can it be prevented?

Tomorrow we will follow up on this idea of the absence of joy.

Prayer
Help us to know that joy is necessary to our lives just like air and food and water. May we seek joy for ourselves and may we endeavor to help others know joy as well. Amen.