Advent: Noticing Joy Growing in Desert Places

The desert and the parched land will be glad. The wilderness will rejoice and blossom. That's the promise. Now you can hear it, maybe you feel it yourself, the protest in that statement. Deserts don't bloom. But that's the whole point. God is promising joy in places where joy feels impossible. But it's not just out there. Notice too, the language of the frailty of the body. Feeble hands, weak knees, fearful hearts, but the Lord continues despite that. [00:31:15] (46 seconds)  #JoyInImpossiblePlaces

The weak hands will be strengthened, the feeble knees will be made firm, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, and the mute will shout for joy. When the dry, what is dry becomes drenched, what is dangerous becomes safe, what is broken becomes whole, when the Lord draws near. that's the promise of God that joy is rooted in. It's unlike the manufactured, plastic, shiny, buy more environment of capitalist Christmas joy. This kind of joy is not cosmetic and temporary. It is transformational. [00:32:01] (50 seconds)  #TransformationalJoy

Then comes the command in verse 4, say to those with fearful hearts, be strong, do not fear, your God will come. See, joy begins with God's commitment to God's promises. promises. The reason the desert blooms isn't because Israel has suddenly become optimistic. It's not because Israel has suddenly figured out technology to bring water into the desert. It blooms because the glory of the Lord arrives. The splendor of God comes to them. Joy becomes possible, not because we can see our way through it, but because God is on the way towards us. [00:32:51] (51 seconds)  #GodMakesDesertsBloom

What is this describing? Joy runs faster than you. Joy runs faster than your grief, than your sorrow. it will overtake you. That's why the desert, the desolation, the discouragement are not things that we run from and cover up with artificial happiness. They are actually graces for us. They are invitations for us to notice the pain, the despair, so that we can notice the nearness of God. [00:34:29] (43 seconds)  #JoyOvercomesSorrow

And this is where theologian Willie James Jennings helps us saying that joy is an act of resistance against the forces of despair. Joy is an act of resistance against the forces of despair. see, joy, though it waits patiently, it is not passive. Joy is defiant. Joy is a way of refusing despair and its narrative because God's promise is a different future for us. So we can patiently wait. [00:38:48] (38 seconds)  #JoyIsResistance

Jesus responds to that question, not with a lecture, but with an invitation to notice. He says to John's disciples, who are his messengers, saying this, go back and report to John what you hear and what you see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Go and tell John what you hear and see. Notice where God is at work. [00:41:18] (40 seconds)  #SeeHearTell

The only condition for joy is the presence of God, joy can erupt in a depressed economy, in the middle of a war, or an intensive care waiting room. Joy is a gift. That is exactly what Jesus invites John to do, to notice signs of God's joyful presence. Notice the gifts of God's activity around him, even here, even now, even in prison. [00:42:44] (38 seconds)  #JoyInGodsPresence

Blessed is the one who does not reject this quiet, humble, upside-down way of Jesus and how his kingdom actually arrives. Blessed is the one who sees Jesus' apparent weakness, in fact, his strength. His sacrifice as an example of how it truly means to be human in this world and how his kingdom doesn't come with domination but with peace and flourishing for all. See, even here, joy is possible because Jesus has come and Jesus is at work. [00:44:01] (45 seconds)  #UpsideDownKingdom