Rejoice!
Sermon
Living Between the Advents
Preaching Advent in Year B
I keep coming back to it time after time, so it is never going to stop being one of the most significant passages in the Bible for me. It is found in the otherwise rather obscure book of Habakkuk:
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
-- Habakkuk 3:17-18
The passage reminds us of a significant issue that we will not think about until circumstances force us to consider it. The issue is this: How can we know joy even in the midst of the worst that life can throw at us? I am not implying that we necessarily and automatically know joy in the best of times. Many people just kind of float through and hope for the best, never really tapping into the joy that Christ makes possible in our lives. During Advent, as we draw ever closer and closer to Christmas, we need to be told or to be reminded that because of Christmas, real joy is possible.
Someone has said that the early church knew what it was doing when it set the date for our Christmas observance on December 25.1 I think he's right. After all, look at what's been happening lately. The darkness of night has been coming upon us earlier and earlier. The weather has been gray and damp and cold. Such atmospherics can push our spirits down and cause us to forget that the light and life of spring are just around the corner. In the midst of such potential depression, the church stands up and insists that our world be reminded of this great truth: "Joy to the world! The Lord is come!" We light the candles and we turn on the lights and we sing the songs and we tell the good news that Jesus Christ is born. Into the midst of darkness we shine the light of the world and we insist that he really does make all the difference. We insist that the "good tidings of great joy" are not only for all people but are also for all situations and for all circumstances, no matter what is happening. We insist that we celebrate Christmas because Christ came, because he continues to come, and because he will come again. We insist that his coming brings joy. Because of Christ, and only because of Christ, we can "rejoice always" and we can "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18a).
That means that we rejoice in the here and now no matter what the here and now brings. We know that one day our joy will be complete when we all get to heaven; we know that our joy will be fulfilled when Christ returns. But, Paul tells us that we are to "rejoice always" and to "give thanks in all circumstances" as we live these lives.
Joy and sorrow are companions in our lives. To say that because of Christ we have joy is not to say that we don't have sorrow. But we can say that because of Christ even our sorrows have meaning and that our joys have final sway. John Goldingay is a British professor who, after many years of teaching in England, moved to California to teach at Fuller Theological Seminary. His wife, Ann, has lived for many years with multiple sclerosis and just before they moved to California she lost her ability to walk. Goldingay published a book about their experiences that included the following words:
Then there was an occasion when I was running around our sports field feeling joyful at 7:45 a.m. It was the day I was to take Ann to the rehabilitation center for a stay.... Yet, as I was putting her into the car I found myself crying, and I knew it was because that sort of moment brings home to me the reality of her illness. Whereas we try to live a "normal" life, a moment like that reminds me of the sadness of how things actually are. That did not surprise me. What did surprise me was that juxtaposition of joy and tears. It should not have surprised me, because that is how our life is and how most human life is, I suspect. Quite often joy alternates with sadness. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).2
We live with joy and sorrow mingled together. That is the way we live, with childish laughter mixed with traces of sorrow. But the incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection of Christ teach us that God is in it all.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, toward the end of his life, reflected on the events of his last few years. He knew that he was dying. He was falsely accused of the sexual abuse of a seminarian. He was then diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Surgery and treatment seemed to go well, but he was later diagnosed with the liver cancer that would prove terminal. Toward the end of his life, he wrote of how he had experienced good and bad together during his struggles. He wrote of his experiences to demonstrate "how the good and the bad are always present in our human condition and, that if we 'let go,' if we place ourselves totally in the hands of the Lord, the good will prevail."3 That is why we can give thanks in all circumstances. God can write straight with crooked lines. If we let go and trust God, as the great old Christmas hymn says, "The wrong will fail, the right prevail."
Even as the First Advent of Christ calls us backward and the Second Advent of Christ calls us forward, we must realize that it is the presence of Christ right now that enables us to have joy right now. But to experience that joy we must be willing to live in the moment and to see how the things that are happening can turn our lives in wonderful ways that we would never have anticipated.
Marion Ettlinger is a photographer who is known for her portraits of authors. She once spoke about an experience she had when, as a young photographer, she was assigned by Esquire magazine to photograph Truman Capote. It did not go well. Even though she was there on the right day, he thought she was there on the wrong one. He wouldn't let her in his house. He was wearing an old sweatshirt. Finally he said that if she was going to shoot any pictures, she needed to start right then. So she began snapping photographs of him glaring at her. She then asked him to turn so that she could shoot him in profile. He did, and he began to raise his chin. After she shot a few like that he said that the shoot was over and he went back inside. The pictures are quite impressive. Ettlinger said that prior to her difficult experience with Capote, she assumed that a good result depended on the cooperation of the subject. But, she said, "He taught me that that's not necessarily true and that if you go with what's happening, something much more interesting and more beautiful might happen as a result of that."4
That is a marvelous picture of how to live a life that is full of joy. Live in the moment. Be willing to abandon your plans. Know that control is of limited value. Go with what's happening, with what God is working out in your life, with the ways in which God will write straight with crooked lines, and in Christ your life will be filled with joy.
__________
1. Stephens G. Lytch, "We Can Rejoice," The Minister's Manual 2002, ed. James W. Cox (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001), p. 291.
2. John Goldingay, Walk On: Life, Loss, Trust, and Other Realities (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), pp. 98-99.
3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace (New York: Image, 1998), pp. xi-xiii.
4. As heard in an interview with Terry Gross on the radio program Fresh Air on December 12, 2002.
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
-- Habakkuk 3:17-18
The passage reminds us of a significant issue that we will not think about until circumstances force us to consider it. The issue is this: How can we know joy even in the midst of the worst that life can throw at us? I am not implying that we necessarily and automatically know joy in the best of times. Many people just kind of float through and hope for the best, never really tapping into the joy that Christ makes possible in our lives. During Advent, as we draw ever closer and closer to Christmas, we need to be told or to be reminded that because of Christmas, real joy is possible.
Someone has said that the early church knew what it was doing when it set the date for our Christmas observance on December 25.1 I think he's right. After all, look at what's been happening lately. The darkness of night has been coming upon us earlier and earlier. The weather has been gray and damp and cold. Such atmospherics can push our spirits down and cause us to forget that the light and life of spring are just around the corner. In the midst of such potential depression, the church stands up and insists that our world be reminded of this great truth: "Joy to the world! The Lord is come!" We light the candles and we turn on the lights and we sing the songs and we tell the good news that Jesus Christ is born. Into the midst of darkness we shine the light of the world and we insist that he really does make all the difference. We insist that the "good tidings of great joy" are not only for all people but are also for all situations and for all circumstances, no matter what is happening. We insist that we celebrate Christmas because Christ came, because he continues to come, and because he will come again. We insist that his coming brings joy. Because of Christ, and only because of Christ, we can "rejoice always" and we can "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18a).
That means that we rejoice in the here and now no matter what the here and now brings. We know that one day our joy will be complete when we all get to heaven; we know that our joy will be fulfilled when Christ returns. But, Paul tells us that we are to "rejoice always" and to "give thanks in all circumstances" as we live these lives.
Joy and sorrow are companions in our lives. To say that because of Christ we have joy is not to say that we don't have sorrow. But we can say that because of Christ even our sorrows have meaning and that our joys have final sway. John Goldingay is a British professor who, after many years of teaching in England, moved to California to teach at Fuller Theological Seminary. His wife, Ann, has lived for many years with multiple sclerosis and just before they moved to California she lost her ability to walk. Goldingay published a book about their experiences that included the following words:
Then there was an occasion when I was running around our sports field feeling joyful at 7:45 a.m. It was the day I was to take Ann to the rehabilitation center for a stay.... Yet, as I was putting her into the car I found myself crying, and I knew it was because that sort of moment brings home to me the reality of her illness. Whereas we try to live a "normal" life, a moment like that reminds me of the sadness of how things actually are. That did not surprise me. What did surprise me was that juxtaposition of joy and tears. It should not have surprised me, because that is how our life is and how most human life is, I suspect. Quite often joy alternates with sadness. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).2
We live with joy and sorrow mingled together. That is the way we live, with childish laughter mixed with traces of sorrow. But the incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection of Christ teach us that God is in it all.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, toward the end of his life, reflected on the events of his last few years. He knew that he was dying. He was falsely accused of the sexual abuse of a seminarian. He was then diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Surgery and treatment seemed to go well, but he was later diagnosed with the liver cancer that would prove terminal. Toward the end of his life, he wrote of how he had experienced good and bad together during his struggles. He wrote of his experiences to demonstrate "how the good and the bad are always present in our human condition and, that if we 'let go,' if we place ourselves totally in the hands of the Lord, the good will prevail."3 That is why we can give thanks in all circumstances. God can write straight with crooked lines. If we let go and trust God, as the great old Christmas hymn says, "The wrong will fail, the right prevail."
Even as the First Advent of Christ calls us backward and the Second Advent of Christ calls us forward, we must realize that it is the presence of Christ right now that enables us to have joy right now. But to experience that joy we must be willing to live in the moment and to see how the things that are happening can turn our lives in wonderful ways that we would never have anticipated.
Marion Ettlinger is a photographer who is known for her portraits of authors. She once spoke about an experience she had when, as a young photographer, she was assigned by Esquire magazine to photograph Truman Capote. It did not go well. Even though she was there on the right day, he thought she was there on the wrong one. He wouldn't let her in his house. He was wearing an old sweatshirt. Finally he said that if she was going to shoot any pictures, she needed to start right then. So she began snapping photographs of him glaring at her. She then asked him to turn so that she could shoot him in profile. He did, and he began to raise his chin. After she shot a few like that he said that the shoot was over and he went back inside. The pictures are quite impressive. Ettlinger said that prior to her difficult experience with Capote, she assumed that a good result depended on the cooperation of the subject. But, she said, "He taught me that that's not necessarily true and that if you go with what's happening, something much more interesting and more beautiful might happen as a result of that."4
That is a marvelous picture of how to live a life that is full of joy. Live in the moment. Be willing to abandon your plans. Know that control is of limited value. Go with what's happening, with what God is working out in your life, with the ways in which God will write straight with crooked lines, and in Christ your life will be filled with joy.
__________
1. Stephens G. Lytch, "We Can Rejoice," The Minister's Manual 2002, ed. James W. Cox (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001), p. 291.
2. John Goldingay, Walk On: Life, Loss, Trust, and Other Realities (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), pp. 98-99.
3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace (New York: Image, 1998), pp. xi-xiii.
4. As heard in an interview with Terry Gross on the radio program Fresh Air on December 12, 2002.
