Isaiah 61 1-2, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5 16-24, John 1: 6-8, 19-29
1. Many people search for Joy in life especially at Christmas time and think it comes in the giving or receiving of Material Gifts. And while there is joy in ‘Santa Like’ events, the liturgy of the church urges us to make sure we understand the difference between that joy and TRUE JOY which is the giving and receiving of HOPE and SECURITY of salvation.
What TRUE JOY is and how it gets proclaimed and lived, was best expressed in the words we heard in Isaiah: “ …the Lord has anointed me to bring GOOD TIDINGS to the AFFLICTED, he has sent me to BIND UP the BROKENHEARTED, to PROCLAIM LIBERTY to the CAPTIVES, and the OPENING of the PRISONS to those who are bound; to PROCLAIM the year of the Lord’s FAVOR, and the day of vengeance of our God.”
These words initially were spoken by the Prophet Isaiah to the Jewish Exiles in Babylon about a Messiah that would come one day to restore the Joy of Life living in the Kingdom they once knew in Jerusalem. Then when Jesus came 500 years later, He in addressing the crowd in the Synagogue, declared that He is the fulfillment of those very words. So then in His ministry, by working miracles, teaching the truth of the Kingdom and establishing His Church, Jesus gave us the EXAMPLE of how we are to live in His Kingdom that starts here on earth, knowing that the Joy that comes with it, is only a foreshadow of the FULLNESS of Joy that will only come in the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Importantly then, on this Sunday of Advent, Isaiah reminds us to allow the ‘Spirit of the Lord’ to awaken in our lives the sense of and search for TRUE JOY that leads us to heaven. The readings are also about 2 other men (Paul and John) who realized this in their lives. These 3 men whose lives, were set aflame by the Word of God, took on the task to bring that Joy of salvation, by inviting us to follow their lead and allow events that we experience to reveal God in our lives.
2. There was a large family who for many years was escorted to the Good Will, to receive a pair of shoes, mittens, candy and a apple to increase the JOY of the Christmas season and to ease the burden of clothing expenses for all throughout the year. As the family grew into adulthood and became secure and blessed citizens and parents, they decided to return to the ‘Shoe Party’. For many years now, not only with funds and candy, but also with their time to give that personal touch to that BLESSING they once received as the ‘less fortunate’.
Isaiah describes the GROWTH of Joy: “…For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” To experience the Kingdom of God here on earth brings Joy, but we must learn to pass it on, which causes even GREATER JOY in the Kingdom to abound.
3, Then comes David, Mike or Monty. They each had a brush with the law for drugs, alcohol or abuse. They each spent some time in Jail and on probation. Out of prison, each looked for work but were finding it hard to get hired because of the ‘Record’. A troubled past clouds a secure future. So Corrections officers, Judges and State Job officials Church Ministers and a willing employer all try to restore dignity in their lives and fix patterns of broken behavior.
Paul to the Thessalonians describes the PATH to Joy: “Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil.” When we offer or make the effort to restore Human dignity through work and obedience, True Joy of the kingdom will make its’ mark in all of society as well.
4. And finally at Planned Parenthood on Stone Ave, many young people, especially women go in and out of this office. Due to the use and misuse of our human sexuality, they are getting help and answers that compromise the truth and compound their life in the dark.
Also holding positions near the entrance are many Christian people for a planned 24/7, 40 day vigil to pray for an end to abortions. To pray for the children lost, for the mothers and fathers and the medical industry performing them. With certain knowledge that life is precious and that we need to endure life’s problems in truth of selfless love, the prayer warriors are seeking the restoration of order because of human foibles and frailties.
In the Gospel, St. John describes the joy of the MISSION: “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”. Living God’s Plan for our lives, while encouraging others to follow also, is the path of True Joy in the Kingdom.
5. WE have all had experiences in life that speak to us of Life in the kingdom of God. Life on earth will never be easy. But living it for God everyday, brings a Comfortable Joy, that gives us Strength to carry on. Let us Rejoice in our own journey, as we cleanse ourselves of sinful attachments, and make firm the resolution to follow the Lamb, “bearing witness to the light.” Having repented, actions of faithful service will flow in gratitude for GOD’S mercy and kindness. For we must realize, we too, have been anointed to bring GLAD TIDINGS.
There are two Sundays a year that remind us that Joy is a FRUIT of the Holy Spirit, necessary to full participation in God’s Kingdom here on earth. The 3rd Sunday of Advent Call Gaudete Sunday and the 4th Sunday of Lent called Laetare Sunday, call us to REJOICE in the midst of a lot of hard work. Each Liturgical season having it’s own nuanced concept of Fasting, Repentance, Giving and Suffering. So what those particular Sundays are trying to tell us is, that in living these disciplines, but infusing each action with Christian JOY, they become greater actions, taking us deeper into the spirit of the Season. JOY, after all, is a GREAT SOURCE of STRENGTH in living our faith.
1. Johnny and Susie, brother and sister were having fun playing when all of a sudden Johnny gets a little rough with her toy they were playing with and he breaks it to smithereens. So Susie crying, screams ‘You broke it ON PURPOSE’, and then yells for their mother to come. At the same time in all that hub-bub, Johnny bellows back at her ‘it was an ACCIDENT’. No it wasn’t…you did it ON PURPOSE….MOTHER. I said it was an ACCIDENT. No it wasn’t…yes it was! MOTHER! In a Hopeless moment, Mom shows up to restore order and fix the broken toy.
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