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Authentic faith brings joy regardless of life’s circumstances. When there is hardship, painful suffering, school shootings, unforeseen family trauma, one may wonder where is the joy in these times. We pray fervently for the inner joy God offers. This is what we need because inner joy connects us with hope, peace, and love while the joy we seek is in the Second Coming. We faithfully wait in this Advent anticipating immense gratification, anticipating intimate comfort. Ultimately while we serve, we reflect God’s character and great joy to the world. It is a reminder of God’s presence and our response as God’s people for his greatest gift…Jesus. God’s vision is for all people to be filled with the greatest joy Jesus brings. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)
A key point in Luke’s Gospel is God’s caare for people who were seen as insignificant in the society of his day. Luke brings focus onto the lowly and alters the high status of the powerful because the first ones to hear of the infant savior are the low status shepherds. The angels proclaim a powerful message of who this child will be. This is Jesus, who will indeed “shepherd the people,” will be able to speak truth to the powerful, low and offer comfort to all people. Regardless of status, achievement, or position in life, we rely on God to shape and guide our daily existence. Our participation in daily life should be like breathing the air you draw unto your body without the slightest thought. It is the Holy Spirit who breathes creative transformation, changing your path, and allows an opening to his wider vision, taking you out of yourself to care for others. Past pain can’t be denied, nor can our complicity in our nation’s collapse be forgotten, but a new day is upon us.
God’s Joy is abundant, more than we can ask or imagine. Joining in God’s intimate relationship is the inner joy we seek and he will never forsake us! This is the reality in our mission, that is to love while serving others and allowing that love to flow beyond the chaos in any worldly experiences. It is through this reality that God brings a new order because God is not finished with us or our histories. God exposes our rules and daily practices, knows every trick in our book and then introduces a way of life so radically opposed to the values we may hold as natural.
God’s joy is over and beyond our expectations. It’s not a momentary joy. God’s idea of abundance is lasting, more than we can ask or can imagine. This is why having a relationship with God is greater than all our expectations. God’s purpose for joy is to provide a deep, enduring relationship with him that stems from knowing and experiencing his love that ultimately restores peace. This is our inner joy to share. Good Tidings of Great Joy. Rejoice! Rejoice and be glad in the Joy! Amen
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