Tears of Joy
John 1: 1-5
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
How are we to know the Light without naming the Darkness? It’s only in confronting Darkness that we can sense our longing for Light. We come to know our deepest Joys through our tears of sorrow. Even if we can come to trust that there is light…or there will be light…how do we position ourselves so we are able to perceive it?
Today, let’s take a brief moment to name the Dark that surrounds us. Let us breathe deep, and give voice to the things that keep us from experiencing God’s light in our lives. Let’s name our needs….our desires…our failings…our sorrows…our sufferings…our isolation…our anxiety…the chaos that threatens to envelope us.
If we can trust that God’s Light is waiting to find us, that NO darkness can overcome that Light, then let’s orient ourselves in the Dark so we are prepared to receive God. By lamenting to God, maybe the barriers we put between us and the Light will melt and flow away. Give your sorrows, your fears, your doubts and frustrations…give them to God…because God can TAKE it. Let’s wipe away the walls between us and the Light of God…let’s name the Dark so we can find the Light that withstands it.
Walking toward the Dawn
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
- Luke 1: 78- 79
The future is simply darkness. The present is more or less clear. The past, we can see, though it may be a bit grayer, especially as we grow further away from it.
But the future is darkness. We cannot see in to it. We cannot determine it. We cannot control it. Therefore, it can feel terrifying. Our routines and order give us a sense of security and possible predictability for the future.
This time of year is filled with darkness. In fact, yesterday was the longest night of the year. The beauty of our reality is that it can only get lighter from here. Each day, the light will slowly, minute-by-minute creep back into our days. Even though our eyes cannot see into the upcoming months, we can trust that when the dawn from on high breaks upon us, it will illumine everything more clearly.
All throughout these months
as the shadows
have lengthened,
this blessing has been
gathering itself,
making ready,
preparing for
this night.
It has practiced
walking in the dark,
traveling with
its eyes closed,
feeling its way
by memory
by touch
by the pull of the moon
even as it wanes.
So believe me
when I tell you
this blessing will
reach you
even if you
have not light enough
to read it;
it will find you
even though you cannot
see it coming.
You will know
the moment of its
arriving
by your release
of the breath
you have held
so long;
a loosening
of the clenching
in your hands,
of the clutch
around your heart;
a thinning
of the darkness
that had drawn itself
around you.
This blessing
does not mean
to take the night away
but it knows
its hidden roads,
knows the resting spots
along the path,
knows what it means
to travel
in the company
of a friend.
So when
this blessing comes,
take its hand.
Get up.
Set out on the road
you cannot see.
This is the night
when you can trust
that any direction
you go,
you will be walking
toward the dawn.
-Jan Richardson
There WILL Be Light…
…So says the LORD, so says Hancock Church…
Today, on the darkest day of the year, we reflect on the very REAL presence of God’s Light in the world.
This is a 2 part reflection:
1. Hit play on the video below, and LISTEN to this song; a song sung by a family, weary from years of living in darkness, proclaiming against all evidence that, yes, THERE WILL BE LIGHT
2. While the song plays, scroll down this page to see the Light of God revealed through these snapshots of our family, hard at work bringing Light into the world. Try to scroll to the rhythm of the music. Take your time. Soak in the words and images together.
Truly, even in the darkest, coldest night…there will be light.
…so….let it shine!
In the Path of the Beam
I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam.
- Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Not to flood darkness with light so that the darkness is destroyed, but to enter into darkness, mystery, so that it is experienced.
–Denise Levertov
Tidings of Comfort and Life-Changing JOY!
Joy seems to be the area of Advent that we are most comfortable with. The waiting seems difficult (we can hear the Monty Python refrain, “Get on with it!”), the preparing is mysterious (preparing for what exactly?). But Joy…even if it’s fleeting, even if it’s a singular Christmas carol, or a quick accidental delight that forces air from our chests in the form of a hearty “HA!” We get Joy. Even if it’s elusive, even if this time of year does not evoke it in us, we all know what we’re talking about with Joy, and it’s with great Joy that we finally get into the swing of Advent and propel full force into Christmas. At last…the preparation is over, we finally have something we can experience…something we all understand.
Right?
Pretty much all of our most popular and enduring Holiday/Christmas specials 
emphasize Joy as the ultimate expression of “what Christmas is all about.” Think about the flow of a typical Christmas story: You might see a character Hoping for something in the beginning, but if that hope hasn’t been joyously fulfilled by the end of the movie…well that just doesn’t feel like Christmas, does it? George Bailey goes on a journey to make Peace with his life, and he FINDS it, but the closing scene is anything but peaceful, as friends and family flock to his side, the Bailey’s home is joyously filled with music and laughter and ringing bells…and it feels oh so right. The same with Charlie Brown, Ebineezer Scrooge, even the Grinch; when they experience a love that grows or melts their hearts, the end result is not some abstract, quiet sense of love, but joyful celebration: singing and laughing and dining with friends. We don’t know Christmas without Joy, it is the culmination of the Advent journey, and without it, Christmas doesn’t feel right.
And yet…how does our actual Christmas story end? Is the sense of Joy that we expect from the finale of our favorite Christmas stories the same thing we encounter in the closing scene of THE Christmas story? I held that question in front of me as I read the story of the Anunciation for the umpteenth time…as I saw a scared and confused young woman being greeted by AN ANGEL…as the Angel said to her, “Mary, don’t be afraid…” as the Angel told her of unbelievable, extraordinary, terrifying things that God was doing TO her…and knowing that this part of the story concludes with a painful birth in a dirty stable on a cold, dark night…what is this gift of Joy that the Christ Child brings? Does having a “Holly Jolly Christmas” do it justice? Is it possibly something different than what we expect?
What we lose in the triumphant final moments of our favorite Christmas movies, as the music swells and our heart strings are pulled tight, is what 
happens NEXT. Scrooge, George, the Grinch, Kevin Mccalister, all of our Christmas heroes encounter extraordinary people, spirits, and events and these encounters don’t just make them happy…they lead to LIFE-CHANGING JOY. The power of these stories actually comes from what we can assume happens after the credits roll: Scrooge pays his staff generously, gives much needed donations to local children’s clinics, sends Tiny Tim to university, builds just and loving homes for wayward youth. George Bailey, refreshed and made new by the outpouring of love from his community, runs for office, working hard to provide affordable housing for all, turning Bedford Falls into a sacred space for everyone, and keeping all the future Mr. Potters of the world at bay. The Grinch uses his incredible intellect and strength to turn Whoville into the first carbon neutral town in all of Whodom; they use their expertise and excess resources to bring peace to all the world, and a new age of experiment and discovery as Who learns to make contact with alien life forms (that story continues in Horton Hears a Who).
The Joy of Christmas is not once a year…it’s not even once a day. The Joy that Mary births on Christmas is not just the Joy of delivering a healthy baby boy, not just the deep Joy of bearing the Son of God into the world, but a Joy that continues throughout her life as she lives and journeys with the incredible man 
and the amazing God that is her son. As we experience the Joy of Christmas, we cannot let it be the final scene of our story. We cannot allow our Christmas Joy to be swept into the trash can with all the wrapping paper, to disappear with the tree; we can’t allow December 26 to resemble December 23. We would never be able to stomach the thought of Scrooge “coming to his senses” on New Year’s, forgetting the lessons taught him by the Spirits of Christmas, and shutting the world out once again. We would be devastated to think that George Bailey tries to jump off that bridge every year for the rest of his life. And the Grinch…don’t get me started…there are so many tragic possibilities.
But these aren’t possibilities we have to entertain, because the Joy that we tell stories about at Christmas, the gift that we receive every day, is the gift of a God who makes all things possible…FOREVER. A God who says life will triumph over death, love will always overpower evil, and even in the darkest of night THERE WILL BE LIGHT. It’s a gift we have to be prepared to receive over and over again, day after day, so that our stories of Joy, Love, Peace, and Hope become, not one-time fits of generosity but an eterinty of Creative Justice and Deep Love in God’s Community. Forever and ever.
We all understand that’s the kind of Joy we’re talking about…right? I don’t 
know about you…but I’m grateful for a few more precious days to prepare…prepare to receive life-changing Joy.
Final Week of Advent 2011: The Scripture
Today, we hear the announcement of a Great Light brought to a land of deep darkness. The prophet Isaiah sees signs of a Son, born by the zeal of the LORD. Then the angel Gabriel delivers the news to Mary, that she will bring this light into the world.
Hear the good news! Are you ready?
Isaiah 9: 2-7
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness–
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garmets rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given for us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kindgom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
The Word of the LORD….are we ready?
Waiting…How long, LORD, how long?
Here’s the thing…it’s happening…
with or without us…it’s already begun….
the seeds have been planted, the trumpets have sounded, the fanfare is underway…
God is breaking into our world…right now…
Hope in things unseen. Peace on earth. Goodwill to you. Confounding LOVE in unexpected places…
Are you prepared to receive what God is giving?
True Confession: I hate waiting.
Let’s be honest, I hate waiting. I hate waiting in line at the grocery store. I hate waiting for the books that I ordered from Amazon to arrive. I hate waiting when my friend says, “i’m on my way.” I hate waiting to eat the homemade cookies until after dinner.
In our lives of instant gratification, waiting has become something to be avoided, circumscribed, or railed against. But instead of feeling frustrated or angry, maybe I’ll try to explore another way of seeing these moments of waiting.
My spiritual director has suggested these seven spiritual gifts of waiting to practice in this season of Advent:
1. Patience
2. Letting Go of the Desire for Control
3. Living in the Present Moment
4. Compassion for Others
5. Gratitude for “What is” in Our Lives
6. Humility – Staying Grounded in Reality rather than Illusions or Inflations
7. Building Trust in God
If you and I work on practicing these gifts of waiting, maybe we’ll be less like the innkeeper who was too distracted by his own party, too preoccupied with his own to-do’s, to make room in his life for the Holy. Perhaps in our waiting we’ll learn to go of our attempts to control or orchestrate everything in our day, and allow God the space to break into our “perfectly controlled” Christmas plans.
And maybe in our waiting, we might be surprised by unanticipated joy.
Willingness
The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God”…Then Mary said, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” – Luke 1:35, 38
There is an old piece of folklore about Mary. Imagine, the story goes, that the angel of God had been wandering the earth since the beginning of time, asking peole if they would be willing to bring God’s child into the world. Mary was not the most pure, most holy, most beautiful; she was simply the only one gutsy enough to say, “yes.”
We often think of Mary as being selected by God because she is the most devout, the most pure of all women. She is the valedictorian of devotion and the obvious choice to be the mother of God.
But what if it wasn’t her devoutness or her purity? What if it was her willingness? She courageously agreed, and that set her apart.
In Gospel of Luke, Mary says to the angel of Gabriel, “Here I am.” Theses are words repeated by some of the most faithful in Scripture: Abraham says, “Here I am.” Isaiah says, “Here I am.” These are words of deep trust in God. And after uttering these words, no one ever stands still.
But most of time, we’re afraid to say, “Here I am” to God. We want to add a clause – “Here I am, God, but don’t disturb me too much.” “Here I am, but don’t ask too much of me.” “Here I am, but don’t lead me to do anything different.”
What if we stopped saying, “Yes, but….” and tried saying simply “Yes” to God?
I Will Light Candles This Christmas
Candles of joy, despite all sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all the year long.
-Howard Thurman
*In a long-exposure photo, the interior of Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by choristers during the annual “darkness to light” advent procession in Salisbury, England, on November 25, 2011. Photograph by Matt Cardy.
