Joy Will Come

Isaiah 35:1-10

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. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,  and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;  they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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"Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God." These are the words we hear from the prophet Isaiah in this morning's reading. How can we help it, though, when it is natural for us to be fearful? There is so much for us to worry about, so much for us to process as we make our way through this world. It's the little things that have been gnawing at our ankles, and it's the big things that make it feel like we cannot breathe, and the times when we are given a moment for ourselves when something else enters into the picture. How can we not fear when we come face to face with all of the above? But that is what the prophet tells us this morning. Not only are we told to cast aside our fears, but we are also told to look ahead with joy at the coming promise of God's glory.

There’s a short animated video I saw recently titled “Mr. Indifferent” that was done by Aryasb Feiz. The short animated piece is pretty straightforward. A man goes around with his hands stuck in his pockets. As he takes the elevator, a person rushes to catch it, but instead of holding the door, he lets it shut. Going for a stroll, he passes a child holding a balloon sneezes, and it flies away, but he makes no attempt to catch it. Walking past a grocery store, someone loading their car notices the cart rolls away, and once again, the man keeps walking with his hands in his pockets. He does the same as well as he walks past a booth looking for volunteers for a charity with a sign that says, “Never miss an opportunity to put a smile on someone’s face.” There’s a pattern, but that pattern is broken when he reaches a crosswalk, and an older woman grabs hold of his arm. 

Mr. Indifferent is taken aback by the older woman but begins to cross the street when the light changes. The older woman moves at a snail's pace, and the light starts to flash. Meanwhile, a car speeds down the road and heads towards the man and the older woman. And just as it looks like the car is about to hit them, the man raises his hand from his pocket to signal the vehicle to stop! Screeching to a halt, the car stops in time, and they cross the street. Later the man arrives back home, but he's changed. He's caught a glimpse of something that has filled his heart in a new way. So the next day, we see him going through the same routine, but he stops and helps everyone he ignored the day before. The swirl of isolation and gloominess appears to have faded away, and what we find is a person who has found a new joy and purpose in life. 

We find that at times, we too are walking around with our hands in our pockets. Not because we want to, but sometimes it’s the only thing we think we can do. I don’t know about you, but it sometimes feels like we as a whole are on an emotional tipping point. With everything that we do on a daily basis and with the situation we currently find ourselves, I think we run the risk of becoming numb and indifferent. We can’t even talk about self-care without being told that this is right and this is wrong! When we are hurting, when we are tired, we need a place to rest. Because there is only so much we can do before we feel like we have nothing else to give, it’s hard when the injustices, the pain, the multitude of other things still go on, and the work that we’ve done to make things right doesn’t seem to have an impact. How can it be that the crocus blossoms in the desert? And how can it be that even the fool is set on a path that they cannot be led astray?

Folks, we are at a significant moral crossroads here! And what I mean by that is that we have forgotten what it means to carry joy in our lives in a way that is meaningful, a way that brings life and not death. We see this happening all around us, a loss of joy that comes from inside us, that gives us peace, and makes us feel whole. Because what goes through the mind of someone who decides to pick up a gun and target a Jewish market in Jersey City? What makes someone hate another so much that they feel they have no choice but to resort to violence? That is what we are up against! That is what we need to counter in order to be bearers of life, not death. However, we can’t go out with and accomplish this task unless we find the joy within ourselves and cultivate it so that it becomes an unyielding will that drives us. Because not only do we have a responsibility to spread the joy that comes from God to others, but we also need to tend to our own hearts as well.

As we continue on this Advent season, we find that we arrive at the third Sunday, which is Joy. And while it may be hard to see such joy, it is there. It is in you, and it is in me, it is in everyone who is willing to work towards making a world where justice, love, peace, and compassion rule our hearts and minds. While I give thanks for the officers who responded quickly and lift up prayers for those who died, my greatest prayer is that we act, not speak. So go out and love. Love yourselves so that your heart is full, love your neighbor as yourself, and love so much that your heart is radically changed, so that hate and malice have no place to dwell. Because that is when we will be one step closer, that is when together will take a step towards making the words of the prophet Isaiah a reality in the here and now. And that is something that should give us hope as we renew within our hearts the inner peace that roots us to the things that truly matter. 

There is a longing for justice, a longing for God’s terribly just recompense. And the cries of our weary souls join the choir of those who seek fulfillment of these ancient promises for healing and wholeness! The people who are in exile in a land that was not their own looked to these words of the prophet as a sign of what is to come. But the words of the prophet are also more than just a telling of what it is to come. The words of the prophet are also a call to seek out the fulfillment of peace, love, hope, and joy right now! That’s the thing about prophecies. We often imagine that their fulfillment will not occur until some far off time, but that’s simply not the case! God will take grant justice to those who have been treated unjustly, and God will wipe the tears from the eyes of those who mourn. And God will take care of everything else, but doesn’t mean we can’t do anything in the interim. 

There is a holy joy that lies underneath our exile and our wandering in the wilderness. And that is that God will burst into the picture whether we know it or not. As the psalmist once said, "Joy cometh in the morning." And let me tell you joy does come in the morning. In the haze, that is the chaos of lives, and in the midst of our tear and our cries for justice, God will see to it that joy arrives. It can arrive in something small, and it can come in the form of high school students from Brewster giving out pajamas to children in need, the joy that we are promised, the joy that is here, arrives when we take our hands out of our pockets and act. Let the joy of this advent season make its way into your heart. Do not be afraid, for the Lord, who will come with just recompense, will also bring forth springs of water to quench our thirst and make our path clear and safe. You may discover that the joy you need is nearby, and all you have to do is make the first move in faith. Amen.