Advent Joy

Today thoughts about joy ran through my mind… ruminating on words that my friend Christie Purifoy shared with the Black Barn community (she’s glad that the church calendar has a day to remember being joyful… what a good thought!), connected to yesterday’s sermon (about Sarah and her laughter transformed) and today’s devotions. Below is a poem I wrote trying to capture some of these ides, as well as some joy-filled words, and music . . . Ode to Joy by Beethoven and Christ our Hope in Life and Death by the Gettys.

Psalm 126:1-3 | Leslie Bustard

“God has made laughter for me; everyone 

who hears will laugh with me.”  ~Sarah 

 “And the Lord kept his

promise,” we’ll say, our laughter

like Sarah’s when she

was barren no more and all

her sadness had come untrue. 

Isaiah 35:5,6, and 10

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.

Luke 2:9-11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 6:21b “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?" 
”A great Shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.”

Thank you, Christie Purifoy, for reminding of this piece of music.

What is our hope in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone.