Joy and the Angels

      Like many of you, the events in Newtown, CT just overwhelmed me. The idea of celebrating Christmas amidst such tragedy seems impossible. Yet, while I had so much to say.. at the same time, felt there was nothing I could say and the blog has been silent.  One thing I wrestled with is the complete lack of joy that will be possible there, while at the same time, being the third week of Advent, we remember the joy. 

      There are tragedies surrounding the birth of Christ, yet we don't focus on them. For one, King Herod had all the male babies age 2 and under killed, just to try to remove the threat he felt from Jesus, who was born King of the Jews. What sorrow. But life does go on, and there is within me a search for normalcy. It will be a long time coming, if it ever arrives, in Newtown, but even they will be going through the motions for the children that survived.

 JOY AND THE ANGELS

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.

                             Luke 2:13-14

On the Third Sunday of Advent,  we light the pink candle, the candle that represents JOY.  Joy is an overwhelming sense of happiness.  One very special example of showing joy is of the angels that proclaimed that Jesus was born.  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men” they said.

Angels are God’s messengers.  They are used throughout the entire Bible to inform people of things.  An angel spoke to Zacharias and Elizabeth when she was to have a child.  An angel also spoke to Mary and Joseph.  They informed them of the upcoming birth and reassured them that it would be all right.

Once Jesus arrived, the angels were sent to tell the shepherds that were in the fields.  What an amazing sight!  No wonder the shepherds were frightened by the bright light at first!  It was certainly not something that had ever happened to them before.

A few years ago, the children and youth did a play called, “The Angel Alert” that presented a light-hearted look at what might have occurred the night Jesus was born.  They were “on alert” so that they would be ready to announce the birth.  They had practice drills and choir practice in order to be ready.

It was a fun play that reminded us of the excitement looking towards that important birth.  More importantly, it reminds us of the need to be ready to do whatever God leads us to do.  Sometimes, maybe it will be something as significant as the angels telling of Christ’s birth.  More often, it may be something much more routine, but still a part of God’s bigger plan.

A prayer for today

 O Lord, I want to be mindful that angels are not the only ones capable of telling of the good news of Jesus’ birth.  Give me the wisdom and courage to approach others, sharing with them the joy that I have found in Jesus Christ.  My heart grieves for those that have lost loved ones,  and for those that have seen things they will never forget.

Remind me, O Lord, that I too, should be ready for you.  Ready to listen to your insight, ready to follow your will, and ready when you return once again.

Amen

This is from my Advent 
devotional, As We Wait, 
a book that shares the 
meanings and stories 
of the Advent season. 

The Joy of the Lord

"The Joy of the Lord is My Strength"  

Sometimes, people quote scriptures and it seems automatic, and we might miss the very real meaning found within. These words are found in several places in scripture,  with slight variations. In college, we sang it as a praise song, and it's hard to sing it without cheering up.

For years, people have praised my positive attitude, my strength when things seemed too tough to handle. But sometimes, I'm not cheerful. Some days I'm downright discouraged, even glum.  Sometimes, I'm worn out and tired of pain and really wish I could just give up. And then I feel like a failure, because I don't have a "right" to be depressed. I've been blessed over and over and I should be so grateful that I couldn't ever be sad, right?

But as I listened to the birds singing, I thought how happy they sounded. It reminded me of God taking care of the sparrows, so would even more care for me.  And then in a flash, I thought about how God has seen me through so many things in my life, the routine, the stressful, and the sad. God has been my strength in the past, is now, and will be in the future. 

Suddenly, I thought, "The JOY of the Lord is my strength" and I realized how true this is. When have I felt closest to the Lord? When have I felt the strongest? When I praised Him, and acknowledged Him. and even, when I leaned on Him.  When I feel the joy of the Lord, then I am strong.    

So, today, I will look for joy. And you know what? I suspect it'll be there waiting for me.  

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm27:1

Celebration Song

Wow! The sky is so BLUE today! Maybe the reason it seems even more blue than usual are the huge fluffy white clouds? At any rate, God looks glorious out there today.  
  

The daffodils march in waves of yellow joy and pansies smile back at you.  A fat robin looks around the yard for the biggest, juiciest worm she can find. The grass is bright green and spring flowers are blooming.

While the sun shining on the brilliant spring makes me happy inside, I do realize that for some, this is the dreaded pollen season. This year is worse than usual in many places, too. I'm sorry. 

But I still can't help but feel blessed to look out and see the beauty that is ours to rejoice in.  Thank you, God, for Spring.