THE OFFERING OF JOY, AGAIN
Are there any of us who
don't want Happiness, or to live in Joy? I hope not. In the Christmas
season we are told 'great joy' is offered to us by God. The
traditional 'church' slant on this was that in Jesus, we were finally
freed from the power of sin that had condemned all of humanity since
Adam and Eve. I don't know about you, but that's hardly a inspiring
or hopeful message. Any God that has that kind of vindictive streak
hardly inspires joy.
I know many people who
have left any faith in God because, as they reason, there can't be a
God worth their belief, when there's so much suffering and
imperfection in the world. They assume that God has to be an
all-powerful 'fixer and doer', making sure that all is perfect and in
the proper and holy order. Example: “How could God have allowed
that drunk to run his car up on the sidewalk and kill my sister?”
Each of us can change that question in our experience and find good
reason to quit the whole concept of hope in any idea of God.
Many of us cling to an
assumption that God will make everything alright 'in the end'. It's
like the lies we hear from the Self Improvement folks, that if we
just stick with things, they'll eventually work out. NOT. We all
can't be best-seller authors, billionaires or rock stars. Not that we
should give up on our dreams, but it doesn't take many smarts to see
that 'joy' of any kind is not a matter of just trying harder or
longer. Things keep changing, but they surely don't always 'work out
in the end', either by God's or our doing. But do we just give up on
the whole concept of Joy? Maybe the birth narratives will give us a
clue.
Maybe Joy comes in
searching for God (Love) in the small and ordinary, even in the birth
of a baby. Maybe Joy is always surrounding us, singing to us from the
hills and stars, even amidst the suffering. Maybe Joy can be found
with great searchings, as is shown by the 'Wise Men'. Or perhaps is
finds us when we're just doing our jobs, as did the shepherds. The
birth narratives don't ignore the fact of evil: the Roman Empire has
the power to move us around and bring death to the innocent. But even
the most poor and 'unclean' (the shepherds) can hear and see the
power of the message of joy. The story doesn't say that everything
worked out fine for them, only that they knew that Joy had come, and
was a gift from God. But they were still shepherds.
If we're expecting life
to be more easy and free of pain and grief, don't look to God to
change it. Life on this planet is a matter of luck, as well as hard
work. But it is a lot easier and worthwhile if we are open to Joy.
This is the gift we can search for, find, and share. But it usually
isn't in the places we search. Not in riches or power. It's in the
smallest and even most familiar. Even a new birth.
Instead of setting
ourselves up for failure by expecting Joy to knock us over with huge
events and winnings, let's begin to be more open in the joys we can
find and share in the common, understanding that all around is
infused with the holy. If the shepherds and wandering strangers can
hear, see and find Joy, so can we all.
In this season for
searching, and Joy,
Anthony