Advent 4 - Joy
Sermon preached by Rev. Lucy Flatt on Sunday 19th of December 2021
Traditionally not the final advent theme but a very fitting one when we have a bouncy castle and jelly tips awaiting us.
So let us pray.
God of Joy,
we thank you that you light up our worlds,
that through your wonderous Holy spirit
you gift us with joy.
Help us to be a people who are attuned to and living, the joy you bring.
Amen.
This morning’s reading is filled with joy.
Here we find two pregnant women.
One heavily pregnant and one presumably pregnant, at least, from the others Sprit filled response.
Beginning at verse 39 and off the back of the visitation of the Angel, Mary heads off to visit Elizabeth. In haste she heads to the hill country of Judah. Presumably this addition of haste by Luke is to demonstrate an active response to the Angels words and a close time gap between Mary hearing she will conceive and that Elizabeth is in her sixth month.
So when she arrives we know that she is under the house of Zechariah and greets Elizabeth.
It would have been customary for Mary, the younger to pay due respect to Elizabeth as the older and yet within moments of this greeting the social norms are flipped on their heads.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Elizabeth begins paying honour to – the younger, unmarried – Mary.
But what brings about such a change in social norms?
Luke tells us that John leapt in her womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.
Fulfilling the earlier prophesy to Zechariah that John would be filled with the Spirit in verse 15c and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
Underlying this text is the assumption that Elizabeth knows Mary is pregnant. Other than a vomit, a sudden onset of fatigue or carrying around an empty ice cream container (true story!) it is impossible to tell a woman is pregnant so shortly after conception. And yet, through the Holy Spirit indwelling John the confirmation of God’s promise is fulfilled.
Elizabeth cries out in joyful praise - And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Elizabeth is the first to name Mary as a Mother.
She identifies the baby in Mary’s womb as Lord.
Through baby John she exclaims that the response to such news is joy.
What is our response to preparing for Christmas? To the coming of our saviour to dwell among us? In the midst of our family chaos planners and Christmas events?
Is it joy?
Elizabeth’s benediction of Mary continues And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.
Theologian Darrel Bock notes: “Elizabeth expresses a beatitude for Mary’s faith “Blessed is she who has believed.” Here is the essence of response to God, to trust his word to be true and live in light of that belief. To be blessed is to be happy because God has touched one’s life. Such divine benefit rains down on those who trust him and his promises. Blessing emerges from God’s ability to bring his promises to completion, but to share the benefits, we must be confident that God does what he says. The first sign of such faith in Mary was her willingness to let God use her (v. 38). The second was her immediate (hurried) visit to Elizabeth, who herself served as a sign that God keeps his word and can give life (vv. 36, 39).
Joy comes from God.
Joy, the second fruit listed in Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a gift from God.
Joy comes from a life dependant on God.
But what is joy?
Any standard dictionary definition will tell you it is a feeling of happiness.
Yet the Greek word group associated with joy is far more connected to wellbeing.
Euphraiuno holds the word eu – well in its beginning.
It is joy to Eucharist together – to give thanks for the life death and resurrection of Jesus.
And then there is the act of joy – rejoicing or praising. Agalliasis - Greek words associated with joy. Described as “the festive joy that takes in the past and points to the future, and thus becomes the characteristic attitude of the Church and the individual Christians in it.”
It is present independent of our circumstances.
We can have joy – as the apostles Paul, Peter and James encourage us – in the midst of suffering. We can have joy in our failures, weaknesses and finite nature. We hear the psalmists consistently praising God in the midst of trouble.
So how do we cultivate this Joy?
Mary gives us a great model to follow. hears, listens, obeys and surrenders her will to God and As we haven’t heard but may well know gives thanks through the magnificat.
Mary models a pattern of discipleship that emanates joy.
Hear
Listen
Obey
Surrender our will to God
And give thanks.
Hear.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church – we pray.
Physiologically make time to hear God’s word spoken or read.
Today, tomorrow – everyday.
Two – Listen.
You might feel like I’m getting you to suck eggs – but listening is different from hearing.
Listening is to “pay careful attention to, to make sense of, or make connections with” what we are hearing. When we listen to the word of God we contemplate it. We might read our Bibles with a pencil or pen, highlighting, making notes connecting passages to other passages. We mull over it. We commune with God through it. We connect with what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Third – Obey.
Hear, listen, Obey.
Act upon the connections made.
We act like the Church. We act like a unique group of people formed under the Lordship of Christ who seek not our own will but God’s will be done. We are no longer our own. Living for our own desires but for God’s.
Fourth – surrender our will to God.
Trusting in his word to be true, give in to obeying what God asks.
You may have heard me make this analogy before, but surrendering our will is like getting off the throne of our lives, our own queenship or kingship, and instead surrendering to God to be our Lord and king. Practically this looks like bring everything to God in prayer.
Fifth and final – give thanks by counting your blessings.
Look at all God has done for you.
Daily list what you are thankful for and count the many blessings that are before you.
Mary heard the Angel’s proclamation.
Mary listened to his words.
Mary obeyed and with haste headed to Elizabeth for confirmation.
Mary surrendered her body and her whole life to be a servant of God.
Mary broke out in thanksgiving my soul magnifies the LORD
We as the Church are called to do the same.
We are called to be wholly dependent on God.
We are to be a people characterised by joy because like Elizabeth “it is a joy to share in the events associated with Jesus. What a joy to share life with (Jesus)”
When we hear, listen, obey, surrender to God AND give thanks we become dependent on God - like Mary. We become blessed. We become people of joy.
It is no wonder Joy is listed as a fruit of the Spirit because it needs to be cultivated. Like a garden in spring it needs to be actively attended to. The apostle John reminds us of Jesus words in chapter 15 using his wonderful garden imagery abide in me, so that my joy may be in you and your joy will be complete.
So this week let us be a people who; hear, listen, obey, surrender outr lives to God and give thanks. Being wholly dependant on God may we live into the blessing of a life characterised by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. A life capable of counting every blessing a life characterised by joy.
Let us pray
“Holy Spirit, we believe that you are the producer of joy, and we ling for you to make our hearts fruitful ground, so that we may have joy to nourish our souls as well as bring joy to others. Make us able to plant a vineyard of joy in our hearts. Teach us to do our part, and to plant seeds of joy, and bring growth as you water them with your Spirit. Uproiot anything that hinders the growth our our harvest. For joy is your promise to us, and from this day on, we receive it.” Amen - John Mark Comer – Youversion app.