“The Hymn of Joy” Verse 4

Mortals join the mighty chorus
which the morning stars began
Father-love is reigning o'er us
brother-love binds man to man
Ever singing, march we onward
victors in the midst of strife
joyful music lifts us sunward in the triumph song of life

Isaiah 35.8-10 NLT

And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Zion singing,crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Sunday, Dec. 22nd — week four: love

This week’s advent theme is love. Love is a verb, noun, adjective. Rooted, grounded and found in all the things. Within Love, there is always opportunity, and choice. The “ask” isn’t that we love puppies, cute toddlers, cookies, or the smell of freshly baked bread. The “calling” isn’t in the magic of reciprocated desire or syncopated laughter, the finding of familiarity and having certain quirks in common.

Love is found in every thread of our lives. Because He loves me, I am. Because I love, I am. 

The capacity to love and be loved is gifted at birth, and how it is grown and tended, the garden of love in us, is often fraught with more than a couple unplanned draughts, thieves, bad seeds, and unexpected side stories. It seems that everyone and in all of our lives we experience and have whole sections of dysfunction of love cultivated in aftermaths, broken hearts, and empty hands. 

When He asks you, at the end of all that has been done, said and lived, “Did you learn to love?”, what will your answer be? What stories will come to mind? Did you finally come to love black licorice, Aunt Edith's cheek pinches, and country music, or did you figure out how love hardly ever comes convenient or simple? Did you learn that it’s often messy and complicated, requiring more constancy than you thought you were capable of? Did you learn that just when you had none left, if you were broken and empty handed, but turned yourself towards Love itself, that you found an overflowing cup made available to you, with enough to gift to whomever has need? Did you find that whether at the top or at the bottom: Love is? 

Did you find that sometimes the hardest person to love is yourself? And that actually you are worth it? Worthy of love. Needing love. Whole when given love. 

The song of life is a song of love. Love is often held as if it will run out, as if there is never enough, as if poverty will always overcome it. It’s one of the biggest lies of our existence. Yet, can I let you in on a secret? The future is Love: love ransomed, love transformed, love returning, love reigning, love as victor, and love in triumph. Beloved, you did not sign up for a love story of melancholy and infinite sadness. You signed up for the Highway of Holiness, the great road of the redeemed where joy and gladness fills. 

“Father love is reigning o’er us, brother-love bind man to man. . . “. Lord show us the miracles of love all around us. 

“The Hymn of Joy” Verse 3

Verse 3: 

Thou art giving and forgiving
ever blessing, ever blest
well-spring of the joy of living
ocean-depth of happy rest
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother—
all who live in love are Thine
Teach us how to love each other
lift us to the Joy Divine

Isaiah 35.5-7 NLT

 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

Sunday, Dec. 15th — week three: joy

I grew up in a place where the sky is so big and beautiful it has its own honorable mention in the list of the natural beauty a place can boast of. The lakes, rivers, mountains, sky, and all of these natural wonders cannot but catapult a person into a different state of being. For me, that being involves a good hearty holler. Some would call it a yelp, others a whoop, and even others still a simple shout. I have a special sort of holler reserved for a place that gives off an echo. I have memories of learning to echo off the mountains into the valleys from my uncle, a true lover of all things free and wild. You cannot do this holler quietly, it comes from deep down, and the shiver you get when you stand as silent as you can, waiting to hear your voice bouncing off the edges of earth miles away from you is something which cannot be done without a smile. It’s the kind of smile that comes with peace and hope, and trust, and faith, and … choice. 

Isaiah 35: 5-7 reminds us of what we have to look forward to, from lame leaping to those who can’t talk, now singing… wilderness and wastelands made lush and alive again... And the list goes on.

When we remember the promises, I can feel the same kind of smile creeping up on my face which comes from an echo off of the mountains framing me in. The smile of sheer delight, contentment, sweetness of memory and joy. “..well-spring of the joy of living”. I like to think of the echo being a part of me in the future calling back to me, “Celebrate!”, “Joy is all around you!” “Rejoice!” 

As we enter into the week of joy for advent, let us not forget- joy is listed as a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5: 22,23). We all know patience is practiced, chosen, and exercised to grow. But do we consider joy the same way, or do we hesitate to be in a beautiful valley to yell loud enough to hear our echo? If you wait for a picturesque setting, you will have weak little joy muscles and joy will honestly and literally feel elusive and distant. 

Let us pray.

Father, as we turn our hearts, heads, and even our voices towards You, let us remember the echoes of the promise You have given, of all being restored and brought into right as You display Your glory. We choose today to move towards the joy set before us, just as Jesus modeled for us. There is joy, deep, steady, secure joy as ripe fruit waiting for us to pick it. Help us to see the opportunities for joy in our lives, both to give and to receive.

“The Hymn of Joy” Verse 2

Verse 2: 

All Thy works with joy surround Thee
Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays
Stars and angels sing around Thee
center of unbroken praise
Field and forest, vale and mountain
Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea
singing bird and flowing fountain
call us to rejoice in Thee

Isaiah 35.3-4 NLT

 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts,“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

Sunday, Dec. 8th — week two: peace

We live in a world where the kingdoms of this earth are not heralding a message of peace. I know that’s not much of a newsflash right? Even though we know this, many of us think we can be around all that messaging and it does not affect us. When we recognize we are not standing in a place of peace, it can be difficult to regain peace.  Hang with me, for a moment, and take note of the world around you. What are the messages and tone of the things you are digesting? What is in the news, social media, friendships, television, and all the things? The disorder of the world, constant messages of tension, antagonism, and war are the opposite of peace, and all of the disorder is fighting for your heart. It’s hard to remove ourselves from the noise and messaging of the world. But remove, we must. We need peace. 

A synonym for peace? Rest. It’s no coincidence some of our most profound spaces of peace are also places that bring us immeasurable joy. It’s also no accident these spaces are often in nature- in pure, unadulterated beauty—and as we immerse ourselves in them, joy comes to us as well. Revisit your notes on the Sabbath (if you don’t have any check out Pastor Jason Peaks' series on the Sabbath from Takeout in September on NewSong's Youtube channel). Rest and sabbath go hand in hand, and with them, the fruit of peace to eat. The practice of peace is yours to be had. It’s not a far-off and distant promise of heaven someday, but ‘...on earth as it is in heaven’ is how we are to pray, and with that, how to live! There is this availability that holding space for peace can be made as we choose rest. As we choose to unplug from the loud messaging of the world, the dopamine hits on our phones, and lean into the tangible present of the here and now, I believe we will be amazed at what has been right in front of us, there for us all along. Peace. Peace that passes understanding. 

A message of peace would be this: “Be strong (have courage) and do not fear, for your God is coming… He is coming to save you.” It would be coupled with the prayer of strengthening our tired hands, and encouraging our weakness. (Isaiah 35:3-4). All are His words. To you. To me. To us. Chin up, friends; He is coming, the one whose very name is Prince of Peace, is coming. Rest in that; take heart.

“The Hymn of Joy” Verse 1

Verse 1: 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
God of glory, Lord of love
Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee
Op'ning to the Sun above
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
fill us with the light of day

Isaiah 35.1-2 NLT

Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God.

Sunday, Dec. 1st — week one: hope

The first week of traditional advent embraces the theme of hope. We recall in Romans 5 Paul’s words “hope does not disappoint”, reminding us hope is found as we work through our suffering. Hope is found in living long, dark nights, in spaces of loneliness and despair, silence or retreat, grief and letting go, persecution and disappointment. This space is often considered the night before the dawn. Whether you or someone you love is in the night or has been in the night, you know it. We often wonder, “Where is the hope promised to us? The hope a Savior is coming to the world? The night is only a moment, and the morning is coming?”. Yet, in all the things our heart questions and mourns- the call of hope is there.

The night is dark, and when I’m in the night, it’s hard to remember the day. May I offer this hope to you in the long dark night? Did you know that you can feel the sunrise before it rises? The feel of the sun rising comes about long before the light of a new day dawns. The air around us changes, it shifts. Something is alive. Something is being born. Something is coming. There is dawn coming for you, beloved. The air around you is changing. The feel around you is not only night but also the promise and hope of a new day. Do not fear, you are not stuck or forgotten.

What then can we do? How then shall we respond? The psalmists in the Psalms and the apostles in Acts usher in hope (even in the midst of sorrow and suffering) with a song. We rejoice in our troubles and remind ourselves and all those who can hear what has been, what is promised, and what will come. The beauty and sheer wisdom of this picture are this: where hope is trumpeted and joy is seeded happens in the night, before the dawn. Before the promise of the new day comes, there is the promise of all that He will bring forth that is already present to you.

As we have been encouraged to sing and sow, we lean in. Though we may not be able to see through the night, we recognize the possibility of holding joy and sorrow in the same hands. So we turn our heads up, our hearts out and sing worship with all we have. Here we find comfort in the hymnist’s words, “Joyful, joyful, Lord we adore thee! God of Glory, Lord of light!” We sing to remind ourselves, one another, and all who will hear: The dawn is Christ Jesus, and He is coming- He is coming back, he is returning. May He find a church, lifting heads and hearts in praise, hopeful in their watch for His coming. This season is not only to remember the humble entrance of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ in a small stable, but to celebrate together all that He has promised and the hope we have anchored within us, His return is soon.