Earlier
in the week I had in mind some thoughts for the service this morning. Yesterday
Ian and I visited Ian’s father in hospital in Newcastle, Ian’s dad is OK. I
wrote a few notes as we sat in the hospital room as he drifted in and out of
sleep.
Then
when I arrived home, ready to type up my thoughts and notes, mainly about joy,
I found out about the school shooting in America.
What
is Joy?
What
is joy in the midst of war, of violence,
of refugee ‘solutions’ that don’t solve anything ; what is joy when you
are living in poverty, without a home, or waiting to die.
A
Christmas Prayer, letter to Jesus
by Max Lucado
Dear Jesus,
It's a good thing you were
born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver
linings. But they seem dimmer lately.
These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil
demonstrated.
The whole world seems on edge.
Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear
bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?
Your world seems a bit darker
this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The
shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first
cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a
candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman
oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.
Herod went on a rampage,
killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant
before you were a Nazarene.
Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered
the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed.
We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are
kneeling at a manger.
This Christmas, we ask you,
heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
Hopefully,
Your Children
Your Children
What
is joy? In the midst of darkness, what is joy?
Here
are some thoughts from people in Queensland Synod
Video
- Video – Qld UCA happiness and Joy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94sdYKZsFBo
From
someone I talk with over the internet:
A (long?) while ago someone in this group asked what our
joyful moments are. I couldn't boil it down to any one thing, but that question
did help me define what I think joy is - - I experience joy when I am aware
that in a given moment I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing. With
that definition it removes any (necessary) tie to happiness, glee, etc. [i]
- I experience joy when I am aware that
in a given moment I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing.
So joy isn’t singing I’ve got that joy,
joy, joy down in heart …
Or Joy is the flag flown high form the
castle of my heart. Joy isn’t always bright, noisy or exuberant. Joy can be a
quiet knowing that we are in the right place, in the place that God has put us.
Mary lived in a time when her life was
laid out for her from birth; helping her mother, with cleaning, with younger
siblings, with fetching water and preparing food. and marrying at the
appropriate time, to a suitable man, having children, and caring for the man, and
his elderly relatives.
Now she is approached by an angel, and
told she will bear a child, a special child, by the Holy Spirit - That wasn’t
in the young woman’s guide to living.
Here is a song that relates to our
gospel reading today
Solo/group TiS 287
No wind at the window
Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne
Williamson from A
Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”[ii]
Notice the greeting of the angel to Mary: “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Maybe that is joy – you are truly
blessed, the Lord is with you.
And from joy we can respond: “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.”
Mary, sees herself as of little
consequence, just as her culture has taught her; and then the Lord asks
something of her, and she wonders why me? In a few short verses, Luke tells us
of the change in Mary, from a ‘ peasant girl to a prophet’ her story can move
us from ‘ observant believer to active discipleship’[iii]
If we “experience joy when I am aware
that in a given moment I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing.”
Each
of you has a small bell, think of a place or way in which you live out your
joy, your discipleship, and come and place it in the manger.
[while
this is happening a PP of images form Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral Christmas
Light show]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41WgxC8dZEQ&feature=youtu.be ST Mary’s cathedral light show
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