December 17, 2023, Advent 3
I Thessalonians 5:16-23
Introduction
On this third Sunday of Advent, we light not a purple candle but a pink candle, or rose as some would have it called, symbolizing the Christmas Spirit of joy. Today is also known as Gaudete Sunday, Latin, meaning “rejoice” the first word of today’s epistle reading. In addition to rejoicing, Paul urges his audience to, “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
These are all words of encouragement. And during Advent and the Christmas season, we encourage others with similar statements of encouragement and well wishes. It’s what we do. We send best wishes. We hope for the best for others as the year comes to an end and a new one begins, because when the best comes, it’s likely that joy follows.
So today, we light the pink, or rose, candle of joy; a happy and joyous color; the color of birthday candles and baby showers. It is what we hope and wish for others whom we love because joy is the one thing without which Christmas Spirit cannot happen. You can take away Christmas trees, carols, gifts, bright twinkling lights, tinsel—even the very wreath and candles we light—but take away joy and Christmas Spirit is impossible.
Now to be clear, Christmas can and will happen without joy, but Christmas Spirit cannot. And Christmas and Christmas Spirit, though closely connected, are still very different. Christmas happens no matter what. Well-off and well-to-do—Christmas happens. Homeless, infirmed, imprisoned—Christmas happens. Christmas Spirit, however, is different. No joy, no Christmas Spirit. Which means then we must learn how, and help others learn how, to rejoice even when everything around us and others says and shows there is no possible way to rejoice ever, let alone… always.
Move 1
Our passage of scripture for this Sunday of Joy, is from the Apostle Paul who has been arrested, again, and sits in prison, again. Which for most people would make for some pretty negative emotions. No one uses their one phone call after being arrested to joyfully tell family or friend, “Good news! I’m in jail!” Which makes this text all the more intriguing because that is basically what Paul is saying. Not so much “Rejoice I’m in jail” as rather “I might be in jail, but still I rejoice.”
And why? Or, really… How? Because Paul knows a deeper truth—that no matter where he is, no matter any circumstances, God is with him, and nothing can change this truth—not imprisonment, not injustice, not even death should it come.
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Now for most of us, negative events happening around the world, and unpleasant incidents happening in our own lives, often overwhelm us with emotions that shut us down to any feelings of joy because the worry, sadness, and anger for injustice and despair is just too much. There’s just no way we could possibly rejoice.
But this is where our lesson begins. The words of the Apostle Paul—especially when understood from where they come— provide us with hope in God’s steadfast love and abiding presence. Paul reminds us, from a prison of injustice, there is always, always, always, reason and cause to rejoice, because always God is present to put us back together and restore us—perhaps physically, but certainly spiritually; empowering us to say, “I’m in a tough spot… Those I love are hurting and so I hurt… The world is burning but still, I rejoice. Not because of these circumstances, not because my head is in the sand, but because I know all of it is temporal, all of it is earthly, it will not be forever.”
Move 2
Paul knows suffering and struggle will not last forever. And because they don’t, we can, says Paul, rejoice… always. Therefore, our Christian faith is nothing if it isn’t about joy. And the third Sunday of Advent is a timely reminder of this because though the light of Christ draws closer, the season is still wrought with dimness. But the big surprise is that joy—deep, profound, smile-widening joy—is the astonishing gift of the Christian life when it is lived in the Spirit of Christmas. The Bible continually reminds us of this.
We are blessed to be in possession of joy that is not affected by the turbulence about us. In fact, it thrives in spite of the dimness and turbulence. The prophet Habakkuk expresses such, saying, “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer and makes me tread upon the heights. (3:17-19) Habakkuk, Paul, and others, remind us when we keep aware of God’s constant and abiding presence, we are never without joy. The Bible describes joy as a “fruit” produced on the vine of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
This Advent Sunday of Joy reminds us that joy is a quality— an attitude of heart and mind— that we never have to live without. And yet… this truth remains a mystery to many of us—unseen, unknown, or beyond our grasp. But why? Why is this fruit of joy still so elusive? Still so diminished? Even to those of us who know the source of this joy is eternal?
Move 3
Dr. Nancy Claire Pittman, Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry at Phillips University, speaks to this idea of joy in the midst of diminished joyfulness, writing, at length,
“Sometimes I think I wouldn’t recognize the Holy Spirit’s fruit of joy even if it planted itself right in my office and grew branches through the ceiling. Each morning as I walked into my office, I would simply stumble absent-mindedly over its roots, put my bags down, and turn on my computer. The leaves of this tree of joy would drop gently around me as I respond to emails and tackle the long to-do list, now made even longer by the Christmas shopping and preparations. It would drop fruit in my lap, and I would brush it away as a silly distraction from more important tasks.
The spirit of the Lord God may well be upon us. The Lord God may well have anointed us to proclaim the year of God’s favor and to give the oil of gladness instead of mourning to captives, prisoners, and the oppressed. We may indeed be blessed as God causes righteousness and justice to spring up around us like wild pecan seedlings, but who has time to attend to any of that? I’m just trying to get to Christmas. And yet Paul has the nerve to say from prison, “Rejoice always!” Not because we live stress-free peaceful lives but in spite of them. Not because we don’t see injustice and indifference, even in December, but because we are proactively celebrating their end by laughing joyously in their faces. Maybe today, if even only for a few minutes, I will sit down under the tree of joy and sample its delights.”
So I’m curious… Does Dr. Pitman’s honesty ring true for you? In our awareness of the Spirit of the Lord God anointing us to proclaim and give gladness and joy to the captives, prisoners, and the oppressed, are we living and sharing the deeper truth that empowers us to rejoice always? Or are we living as those who hear Paul and think, “He’s got some nerve telling us to rejoice always”?
Conclusion
During the Christmas season, reflection is one of the most precious gifts we can give ourselves. But too often, with all the busyness and preparations, we allow little time to quietly contemplate all the promises of the season because reflection at warp speed is impossible. Which means we must make a conscious decision to avoid stumbling absent mindedly over the tree of joy.
In his book “In Search of the Real Spirit of Christmas,” Pastor Dan Schaeffer shares a fascinating perspective that can inspire us to carve out time for this precious time of reflection, saying, “This year, allow yourself—even schedule yourself—the chance to see more of what God has made than what humans have made. A quiet park, a country road, or just a spot where you can sit and think and ponder. As you do, remind yourself: My God walked this planet. Look at the trees, the sky, the mountains, the stars, the moon and tell yourself, Jesus saw these too. We live on a visited planet. Then let your thoughts drift forward, into the future, to when Christ comes again. Allow all the pain and sorrows and difficulties you face today be put in this eternal perspective. A day is coming, as surely as the first Christmas morning, when Christ will reappear, and the last Christmas morning will begin and never end.
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The true joy of Christmas, the ability to see and know the truth that we can “Rejoice always!” does not require change in our earthly circumstances, only our earthly perspective. Because the heavenly plans have been made—where one day earth will not only be revisited, but it will also be renewed.
So what will be our response? What lesson will we take away from Paul’s encouragement to rejoice? Will we react with a discouraged “Rejoice? Always?” Or will we respond, by indulging in some pre-arrival celebration, that has us shouting and sharing, “Rejoice! Always!” Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, December 17, 2023, Advent 3
God of new and renewed life, while we are surrounded by glittery tinsel and pretty packages of Christmas, we are reminded superficial trappings do not truly bring the joy we seek. Calendars crammed with activities and events expose the lie that busyness will lead to joy; when the truth is exhaustion and stress, not peace and joy, is too often the end result.
This is to say nothing about the countless who are falling deeper into sorrow and hopelessness, not because they can’t get it all done, but because: a loved one is gone, an illness encompasses them, or fear will not release its grip.
What we all genuinely desire O God, is a sense of transcendence, a story bigger than life, but enfolds our lives. We need your Son to become flesh again, the baby born in a manger who brought shepherds to their knees and angels to their feet. We long for a joy that cannot be contained in words but must be sung by a host angels. In short, holy God, we yearn for you—for it is you alone who can drive away sadness, hopelessness, and sorrow.
So we pray holy God, come again to our restless hearts and move us to rejoice. Come to those in need of your transformative presence and move them to rejoice. Come to those who need a Savior and give them reason to rejoice again. And if your presence is to come through our words, actions, and lives, then embolden us to recognize this call, to step out in faith, and offer to those who need you in their lives the encouragement to know, with you there is always joy.
Lord, as we press through this season of Advent make our preparations about the hope, peace, joy, and love your Son brings, and then use us to transform sadness, hopelessness, and sorrow into a joy that can only come from you.
Hear now, we ask, the prayers of our hearts, offered in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of our Savior Jesus, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”