3rd Advent Rejoice! God is with us

Joy, the reality of God is Joy. Joy, that gift of a moment, of an experience, in which we sense hope, trust; a moment in which the eternal is touched. Joy, that gift of God that renews us and calls us to live life differently.

We cannot make Joy happen by our own efforts per se. This is why trying to buy joy through objects and things does not work. Joy runs deeper, it is that recognition of hope and love for the future, within people; affirmation of hard work with others. Joy again, is pure Gift. We can’t make it happen, we can only prepare ourselves for it.

Joy, it is that moment in which we witness a couple formally adopt their child and a family grows. 
Joy is that moment when a couple say I do to each other while looking into each other’s eyes, and we know that they truly mean it.
Joy is that moment when a parent sees real maturity in their child who has begun to make good decisions for themselves.
Joy is the moment when we children thriving, laughing and simply enjoying life.
Joy is the moment when we walk with a person and witness them begin to live life better.
Joy is that moment when we get an unsolicited thank you, an expression of affection.
Joy is that moment in darkness and doubt, someone comes for us and begins to walk with us.

Our only response to these moments of Joy is to Rejoice and Give Thanks, which in essence are the same thing.

John the Baptist was sent to prepare people for the Messiah, but he was not the Messiah. His baptism was one in which people themselves made it happen. It was their own public acknowledgement that they sinned and were willing to travel a new way. It was all based on their efforts.

Jesus comes and reveals to us God’s work, God sending the Holy Spirit upon us, God gracing us, empowering us, God being with us always. God came and God comes to us as pure gift. Jesus was, is and will always be the pure gift of God.

Rejoice!, is that not reason to have Joy and Rejoice? 
Rejoice because God, the almighty, the all powerful, creator of the visible and invisible loves us, sees the good in us.

Rejoice, because Jesus reveals that God will never ever take away that divine love. It is pure gift, always. Even when humanity killed the Son of God on the Cross, God returned the beloved Son back to us, pure gift, so that we can live in that love.

There is Joy because God is for us, to lift us up. God gives to us a future, the fullness of life! Disciples of Jesus then Rejoice in this Good News. Disciples give Thanks for this Good News and live for that Joy.

These days, it seems so scary, so dark and chaotic. We have these wars going on in Ukraine and Gaza and Israel. We see a political mess in which there is no more talk, just hyperbole and grandstanding to get more money. Couples struggle with making ends meet, some couples struggle with other issues; even struggling in their marriage. There is no shortage of challenges that can drain us of hope, of Joy.

So we come to our faith; to our roots and core belief that in Jesus, God becomes incarnated, becomes a human. We return to our faith that Jesus gave of himself for us to show us God’s love. We remember all we have been taught, that joy comes in those moments of self-giving and healing, welcoming and forgiveness and generosity.

And we have our hearts prepared through remembering, through our rituals, so that we can be open to the Joy that God always wants to gift us with.

And that we can Rejoice. We can defy the chaos, the darkness, the fear when we Rejoice in Jesus Christ.

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