December 13, 2020: Those Who Dream Sow Joy
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 & Luke 1:46-55
Rev. Rhonda Blevins
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion—to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
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And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
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On the third Sunday of Advent, we light the pink Advent candle of joy—we focus our attention on the joy of the coming of the Lord.
Joy may be a little difficult in this most challenging year. One post I saw on Twitter captures the spirit of this Advent season perfectly. The person who posted had taken a picture of their neighbor’s outdoor Christmas decorations, the focal point of which was three big, lighted letters spelling out “J-O-Y.” But there was one problem with the display. The “J” had fallen down leaving only “OY!” The person posting wrote: “My neighbor’s J fell down but this is way better. #2020.” Oy!
So if “OY” is more fitting than “JOY” for you this Advent season, this message is for you!
I read several years ago that when life is grim, it’s best not to ask people “Are you happy?” This is a “black hole” of a question which invariably leads to “equivocation and existential dread.” Instead, advised the author, ask, “What’s making you happy today? This question “assumes that there's always something, no matter how grim life is, that can be a source of gladness, however small or simple—like a flower or a bird, a skyline or a full moon, or just a cup of coffee.”[1]
This is the advice that inspired our activity at the beginning of worship—to write down three things in response to the question, “What’s bringing you joy today?” I invite you to once again, remember those three joys. (Silence.)
Do you see what I did there? More than likely, I fostered just a bit of joy in you by prompting you to remember that which brings you joy. I sowed a little seed of joy in you. Those who dream sow joy.
This idea of “sowing” joy invites us to think of a gardener who plants seeds hoping, trusting, believing, that one day that effort will yield results. Sometimes seeds yield results even when there is no hope.
My friend Jeff tells a story about one of his kids. When the kid was little, he brought home some baked pumpkin seeds from his teacher one day. Jeff and his kid ate a few of the seeds, and then his kid wanted to plant the rest of the seeds and grow pumpkins. Jeff, being older and wiser, informed his kid that there was no way those baked pumpkin seeds would yield pumpkins, that the act of baking the seeds would leave them unable to produce pumpkins. But the kid was insistent, begging Jeff to plant the seeds. Relenting, Jeff and his son went out to the front yard, dug a little hole, placed the baked pumpkin seeds in there, and covered the hole with dirt. Having appeased his son, Jeff forgot all about the pumpkin seeds. But wouldn’t you know, a little less than a year later, Jeff was cutting the grass when he noticed some interesting leaves sprouting where he had planted baked pumpkin seeds several months prior. Would you believe those hopeless seeds yielded a nice little pumpkin patch (to Jeff’s chagrin) right there in Jeff’s front yard?
This garden imagery is used many times in scripture, and in our Old Testament text today we are given the imagery of God as both garden and gardener. God plants God’s people as “oaks of righteousness” that set all things right in the first part of the passage; God is the garden in which “righteousness and praise” spring forth.
In this part of Isaiah, the prophet is writing to those who have returned to Jerusalem following their 70-year exile in Babylon. They are returning to a devastated homeland—Babylon had burned it all down before the exile, and Jerusalem remained a pile of rubble during the decades to follow. The prophet is seeking to plant some seeds of hope in his kinsmen, that they have what it takes to do the work of rebuilding.
They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations . . . I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
“A garland instead of ashes” writes the prophet. My paraphrase: “In the middle of this devastation, though everything around us is rubble, we will celebrate! We will not let the external situation rob us of our joy! We rejoice as an act of holy resistance!”
Fast forward half a millennium. Jerusalem has been rebuilt, but now the Jews have another oppressor. In Isaiah it was Babylonia, but by the time we get to the New Testament, it’s the Romans. Jerusalem has been rebuilt, King Herod even gave them a glorious new Temple, but things are still bad for the Jews under Caesar. The Jews are subjects of a brutal, oppressive, foreign regime.
Enter into this setting a young virgin Mary, visiting her cousin Elizabeth, both of them expecting. In a seemingly hopeless situation, seeds of hope are germinating within them. And even though joy is in short supply (more like “OY” for the Jews at that time) Mary begins to sing an exultant song of joy, an act of holy resistance:
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for . . . he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made.
In both of these texts, something is happening underneath the surface. There’s growth, there’s mystery, there’s life getting ready to break forth from the soil and from the womb. And the hope of life springing forth gives us cause, now, to celebrate! Garland for ashes! Break out the champagne, people, it’s time to party! Because we remember God’s goodness, past, present, and future.
What’s bringing you joy these days? Were you able to think of three things? Multiply that times the number of people in this room and worshipping online—I bet we can make a garland of joy! In fact, we did! You see, the strips of paper on which you wrote your joys—in the background, unseen by our human eyes—they have been transformed into a garland of joy! Link by beautiful link. Just like God works behind the scenes, turning mourning into gladness, trading ashes for joy.
Driving into church on Monday, I noticed our yellow irises out front weren’t looking great. Normally, they’re beautiful, their yellow blooms have brightened many of my days, and maybe yours as well. But earlier this week, they weren’t looking great. The garden had thinned. The leaves that remained looked a sickly yellowish-brown. I asked Rick, our facilities manager, to have the lawn company cut them down. “Take them out?” Rick asked, with a surprised tone. “No, cut them down. They’re perineal. They’ll grow back in the spring.”
That’s a bold prediction, right? A courageous thing to claim? Am I some kind of soothsayer with abilities to predict the future? No. We know the nature of irises. They’re perineal. They bloom, faithfully, year after year after year.
Just like joy.
This year, if joy has been hard to find, remember that it’s not gone forever. Perhaps it’s simply dormant, like a flower bulb beneath the surface of things, gathering energy, soon to spring forth.
Just like we trust that the bulb will yield beauty in its time, we trust that God is working behind the scenes, beneath the surface, within the mystery. Until then we wait. “People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait.”[2]
So my friends, remember this Advent season that we do not wait as those without hope. So rejoice! Be glad! Find your joy by sowing joy in another. It’s a simple thing to do, really. Just ask them, “What’s bringing you joy these days?” (Do you see what I did there?)
[1] The Christian Century, June 2, 2009, quoting Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, May 1, 2009.
[2] Henri Nouwen, Seeds of Hope.