The song that some of us learned as children goes, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart, I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.” Another song proclaims, “There is joy in the Lord, there is love in His presence, there is hope in the promise of Him.” Joy can be described as delight or bliss, and these songs attribute joy to the Lord.
Two weeks ago, we lit the candle of Hope, and considered the words of Isaiah. He was crying out to God, pleading for Him to bring about change. He wanted God to tear open the heavens and come down to earth, causing the mountains to tremble and the earth to shake. The Israelites were in exile and desperately holding on to the hope that God would fix things.
Last week, we lit the candle of Peace, and once again considered the Israelite’s place in exile. Our scripture also came from the book of Isaiah, with Isaiah speaking on behalf of God, as God said, “Comfort, o comfort my people.” We shifted from Isaiah’s pleading that God intervene to God’s personal response of peace and comfort for the Israelite people.
This morning we lit the candle of joy, and are once again considering scripture from the book of Isaiah. This morning’s scripture has a certain bounce, a certain cadence, and a certain joyfulness. This is the good news of their deliverance. They are still in exile, but our scripture tells us that the Israelites has moved from the hope that God would fix things, to the promise of God’s peace, to the fact that God has now anointed someone to take action and relieve the situation through the proclamation of good news. There has been a steady progression in the relationship between the exiled Israelites and God, much as there has been a steady progression in our worship during this Advent Season.
This Season of Advent is all about waiting for the arrival of the Christ child, waiting for the one who will be our deliverer. The Israelites were also waiting for deliverance, and the author in this morning’s text makes reference to an anointed one who will deliver them, but in doing so, he uses the first person in describing the one who has been anointed…v 1. Is he speaking about himself or on behalf of someone else?
When we consider this text, we have the advantage of looking through the Christmas lens and seeing Jesus Christ as the anointed one, but Isaiah’s audience didn’t have that luxury. They were living 500 years before the birth of Christ, so where is the joy in these words written for an exiled people, who have no knowledge of Jesus Christ? Where is the joy in these words for us, who do have knowledge of Jesus Christ?
The joy in this passage is its promise that things will change…liberty for the captives, release for the prisoners, mourners will receive the oil of gladness and the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. We are being told specific details of how life is going to be different because of the anointed one who will bring good news.
There are times in our lives where we are desperate for good news. There are times in our lives where we wander if things are ever going to be different. Will the pain of grief ever lessen? Will the feelings of hurt and rejection ever subside? Will the enclosures of physical and emotional pain that imprison us ever be torn down? We wander if the promise of the good news from the anointed one is ever going to reach us.
But the promise of the good news has reached us. The reversal the Israelites sought in their circumstances and the reversal we seek in our circumstances may not always be delivered when we think it should or in the package we think it should, but the true reversal found in this good news is that there is joy in the Lord, and we must realize that this is joy and not happiness.
We many times will blur the line between joy and happiness. Happiness is dependent upon circumstances. Our circumstances determine whether we’re happy or sad. We can’t control how we feel. Some things make us happy. Some things make us sad. Family reunions, birthdays, and graduations are times of happiness, but if we’re grieving the death of a loved one or dealing with the loss of a job, we’d be sad. Circumstances determine happiness or sadness.
But joy is different. Joy is not tied to circumstances. Joy is a way of life. Joy is an attitude. Having joy in the Lord is what enables someone in the midst of tragedy to say, “My heart is breaking with sadness, but God is good and He is faithful.” It is the joy in our hearts that keeps us moving forward in the face of tragedy, because God has indeed anointed one to comfort all who mourn, to provide the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. We can remain joyful in all situations, whether they are happy or sad, because of the promise of the anointed one.
Grimness, or lack of joy, is not a Christian virtue. If God really is the center of one’s life and being, joy is inevitable. If we have no joy, we have missed the heart of the Good News and our bodies as much as our souls will suffer the consequences. Walter Knight said, “Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts announcing that the king is in residence today.” What flag are you flying?
At a conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha, people were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point during the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Their worship didn’t lend itself to feeling free to say, "Hallelujah,” or “Praise the Lord." All throughout the service balloons were released and ascended to the ceiling, but when it was over, one-third of the balloons remained unreleased. Are you holding on to your balloon? Let your balloon go, and release the joy in your life, for there is joy in the Lord.
Not only does the anointed one promise a reversal, but he also promises that those who benefit from the reversal will find strength…they will be called oaks of righteousness, but here again, the strength that is being spoken about is based upon a reversal of heart. The reversal and release that is being spoken about comes from here; it comes from the heart. It comes from being able to fly the flag of joyfulness. It comes from being able to release the balloon of joyfulness. It comes from discovering that joy is not connected to the happiness or sadness of one’s circumstances, but to a relationship with the Lord.
The presence of the anointed one brings joy, which provides strength for the future, and it is that future that the anointed one is pointing towards.
He says that these oaks of righteousness will be responsible for repairing the ruins and devastations of past generations. We are the oaks of righteousness. We have the benefit of knowing the anointed one, and we are the recipients of His joy and responsible for repairing the ruins and devastations.
This Season of Advent becomes so hurried because of the way Christmas has been built-up. We need to slow down this time of year. We need to count our blessings. We need to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. We need to make the effort to spend time with our families. Too often we strive to cultivate the “perfect” Christmas, instead of enjoying the experience of Christmas.
As we celebrate and enjoy the experience of Christmas, we can’t lose sight of our responsibility. When we proclaim Christ as the anointed one, we acknowledge that we are the beneficiaries of the reversal, and thus, we have the responsibility to rebuild and repair.
The two most important seasons in the Christian year are Advent and Easter. I find it interesting and somewhat disheartening that society has cultivated these Christian celebrations into commercial holidays. Part of our responsibility in rebuilding and repairing is to insure the sanctity and holiness of the Christmas and Easter seasons. The anointed one has brought about a reversal. His being born in a manger instead of a palace was the first indication that things would be different. We are the beneficiaries of His reversal. We are the oaks of righteousness. We have a responsibility to repair and rebuild.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers."
I’d like to substitute Christian for clergy. There are many folk out there who might have a similar thought, “I might have joined the church, I might have become a believer, if certain Christians I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.” We have a responsibility to rebuild and repair. We have a responsibility to fly the flag of joyfulness. We have a responsibility to release the balloon of joyfulness. There is joy in the Lord.
