Journeying to Grace

We reflected on joy about a month ago, and here we are again. It’s worth revisiting! As we ponder joy through the lens of Advent this week, we know it is something very special. So special that we are given the bold signs of the rose Advent wreath candle and rose vestments to make sure we are looking up, paying attention, and taking notice. We are being directed to renew our focus because something out of the ordinary is happening. The joy in our hearts is stirring in hopeful preparation.

While you are preparing, are you feeling the joy of Advent, or is it being a little allusive? Is there joy in the stress of getting your shopping completed? Is there joy in standing in line at the post office? Is there joy in coming up with a special dinner menu? The answer to all of these is YES because the joy of God living within us is in all the things we are experiencing, and it is during this week of Advent that we are especially invited to make room and encounter it. We are made for joy, but it may not always seem like it when we block the joy of the Lord with our worries, sadness, and fears. Advent calls us to see that the joy of God with us, the joy of being loved by Him, is not hidden. It accompanies us, it comforts us, and it sustains us. This joy that Advent reveals is not temporary joy; it is joy for a lifetime.

Many wonderful and beloved Christmas carols sing of joy, but when I think of the holy joy that Jesus brings, the joy of Emmanuel, I note the beginning lines of Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (Hymn to Joy):

“Joyful, joyful we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love …. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day.”

What a wonderful prayer to welcome the Joy of Advent and invite it to work within us as we prepare to receive God’s extraordinary gift of love. Let us pray that during our final preparations of heart as we wait to be filled with the holy light of day, we encounter the indescribable joy that only the God of glory can show us.