Joy everlasting

Isaiah 35:1-10    Matthew 11:2-11

Good morning! It is another Sunday where, like the first Sunday of Advent, our pulpit hanging does not match the altar hanging. The altar continues to be the traditional purple, while today the pulpit colour, like that of the colour in our Advent wreath, is rose. Please note, the Church does not recognize pink as a liturgical colour. Pink, a combination of red and white, was a colour worn in ancient India and imperial China, as well as the upper echelons of 18th-century European society, where it was a symbol of social status. 

In Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican churches, the clergy will be wearing rose vestments. These garments have a hint of purple – a colour made up of a mixture of red and blue.  When there is more red in the mixture, instead of purple we get rose, a colour that came into use in the Church back in the Middle Ages. Rose is the colour of joy.

So - Good morning on our rose Sunday!  Back in Medieval days, as peasants struggled through what was then the very the penitential season of Advent, in fact it was often referred to as the “little Lent”, life was very hard. Thus, a Sunday of total joy was very welcome indeed, and so today we have arrived at Gaudete Sunday – the Advent Sunday of Joy.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.

Our first lesson this morning sets the tone for a joyful Sunday. The desert shall bloom, the Lord will come and save His people, the disabled will become able-bodied, there shall be a Holy Way for the ransomed of the Lord, and there will be everlasting joy. Who could ask for more? And then we hear the Gospel, where the word “joy” isn’t mentioned even once.

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 

John finds himself in prison and nearing the end of his life. As he waits for what will come next, he begins to think over his ministry.  He is the man who, on first seeing Jesus approach the Jordan, shouted out, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.”  John has spoken of Jesus and described Him in ways and terms reserved only for the Messiah, but now John is taking a closer look at his past and at the expectations that directed him to speak as he did. He was a man on fire then, but now he is beaten down and in prison. Did he make a mistake? Is Jesus truly the Messiah?

The Jewish people believed the Messiah would be a great leader, a warrior king, someone who would overthrow the oppressive Romans and bring Israel to prominence and power.  He would be strong, a fighter.  But look at Jesus – look at how He lives, how he dresses, listen to the Gospel He speaks. Certainly the Messiah was not someone who was going to travel from town to town with a ragged band of followers, preaching about love, acceptance, and forgiveness.  Jesus was not who the Jewish people were expecting.  Jesus was also not what John was expecting. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he was very much afraid he had made a terrible mistake in proclaiming Jesus to be the long-awaited Savior.

Fortunately, none of us has been confined to prison waiting an uncertain but most definitely unpleasant fate, but we can still understand to some degree what John must have been going through. Most, if not all, of us have at one time or another in our lives become enthusiastic, excited about a plan, be it for a celebration, a visit, an upcoming family trip or “adventure”, something that has filled us with happiness and expectation. It becomes a prolonged adrenal rush, as we say, and then – we also know that horrible, sinking feeling, if suddenly things appear to be going wrong. Gone is that happiness, replaced by emptiness and fear, worry and stress, as we seek some confirmation that what we have anticipated is still going to go as planned.

Is this what John is experiencing? No!

When Jesus sends John’s disciples back with the message, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me,” is that supposed to make John happy? Of course not.

John’s ministry was never one fueled by adrenalin, with a heady happiness resulting from working out his own personal plans. John was a man called by God to proclaim a great Truth. Knowing what Jesus is doing is proof that He is the Messiah. He reminds John of all that is happening, knowing it will refresh the grace already bestowed on John by God, already within John’s heart and soul, and will give John cause to rejoice.

We do not tend to make the distinction between happiness and joy, but in the Church, they are two very separate and different entities. Happiness is a fleeting emotion, pleasant and welcome when it comes, but something that does not and cannot last forever. As we prepare for Christmas, even though we are happy about the upcoming holy day, we still become tired, irritable, just plain worn out with preparations, shopping, and other responsibilities.  If and when we can, we keep a cheerful face, because that is what is expected, but there are times we don’t feel particularly happy about all the work and time and effort and stress. Sometimes we think, “shouldn’t I be happy at this time of year?”, as we realize happiness doesn’t apply to our current mood.

Well, here’s the thing, it will help us tremendously to remember that happiness, is not the same as joy. Just as optimism is not the same as hope. And intellectual belief is not the same as faith. And affection is not the same as love. As Christians, our lives are not always happy. But we can always have joy, because joy is a grace that flows forever from the heart of God. The Christian writer, Henri Nouwen, describes it this way: “We are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together.”

We know, even when life gets us down, that God loves us and promises to be with us. And this can fill us with joy, even in the midst of sorrow, or just a bad mood. But Henri Nouwen goes on to say: “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us.”

Happiness is actually selfish, it is ours, it comes from our emotions. It cannot sustain us. Joy is a grace that exists always, but it is up to us to choose it. In answering John, Jesus reenforced and rekindled the joy that John had felt when he first went out into the wilderness to proclaim the coming of the Lord. And John would have held on to that joy, as he faced his fate at the hands of Herod. John would have made that choice. Along with faith, and hope, and love, joy is that which keeps us on the path to holiness for which we are all called to strive.

St. Paul tells us: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

Those wise words can come down to our simply remembering to stop in the midst of whatever situation is causing us to feel angry or discouraged or depressed or even desperate. Take a moment and reflect – we are surrounded by angles, by loved ones who have gone home before us, and most important by the Love of God, the grace that Jesus freely gives us. We need to shift our focus, from the worldly matters that distress us, to the spiritual graces that surround us. There really is a difference between being “in the world”, focused on our earthly lives and problems, and being “of the Spirit”.

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Choose joy, and prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace and the Author of Joy. We come to You today to ask for Your help in finding joy in our lives. We know joy depends not on our circumstances but on our relationship with You. Help us to focus on You and Your love for us, even when things are difficult. And help us to radiate Your joy to others. All this we ask for Your tender love and mercy’s sake. Amen.