Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Luke 1:26-38: Three Brief Reflections on Joy

REFLECTION ON JOY #1

When I put the question “What is joy?” into my internet browser, the results numbered about 547,000,000. It seems this notion of joy is something that more that the 40+ of us sitting here in church this morning have pondered on occasion.

Here is what one blogger said about joy:

“Joy begins with a choice. Joy surrounds us. We must choose to let Joy in. Too often, we all are tempted to blow right past Joy as we lead our busy lives. And then we miss the moments of Joy!

(However, it does not have to be that way.) Instead, I can choose Joy – choose to let it in. Joy is a state of mind, or mindfulness. Above all – it is an openness to life’s wonderful moments and its treasures, no matter how small or fleeting they may be.” One author wrote: Joy is...a three year old wearing a leotard and tap shoes over her pajamas… and tapping like she knows what she is doing.

Maybe then joy is being present – in the moment – something most of us have a pretty hard time doing when the memories of the past creep in and the craziness of the future bombards us from all sides.

“Joy is the feeling of grinning on the inside.” says Dr. Melba Colgrove. Joy is not something that begins in your mind. It originates in your heart. Joy is usually not a conscious decision. Often, part of the delight of Joy is that it is unexpected.

Perhaps that is what Vicki Pollard had in mind when she wrote: “Joy is about radiance and movement. It shines from the eyes. It moves up and out through the whole body, exuding from every pore. Joy comes from a place deep within. It is about a vitality that is alive, moving in the body. It is the flower blooming. It is the apple appleing. Each of us being fully who and what we are -- that is joy. The opposite of the cold, still, inwardness of winter, joy is like the summer warmth that encourages everything to open fully.”(Did you know that yellow is the color of joy?)

Joy comes from God. It goes deeper than pleasure or happiness. As long as we do no harm to our neighbor and are always ready to help them, our hearts are full of joy. Joy is knowing that you are keeping God's Law and putting into practice the Beatitudes.

 REFLECTION ON JOY #2

Another blogger had this to say about joy:

“So - what is Joy, anyway? Ask ten different people, and you'll get ten different opinions. Some people say it is a deeper (higher) level of Happiness. Some say it's not an emotion at all…Rather, it is a state of being that is outside the emotional realm.

Well, we do know that an emotion is invoked by an event that produces a chemical reaction in your body, and your brain has learned, over time, to categorize and give names to those different chemical reactions. We've come to know what the chemical reaction for anger is, and for happiness, sadness, rage, and so on.

But does JOY really come from an event that produces a chemical reaction, or is it just a natural state of being within us, that is ALWAYS there, always waiting for us to embrace it, to bathe in its exquisite splendor?”

Our Deacons and Council have been thinking about joy this week. Here’s what some of them had to say:

A Definition of Joy - To take pride, pleasure in and to truly love what you do. An unexpected happiness occurring. Sources of Joy - Getting a compliment, Praise.

Seeing someone do something they didn't think they were able to. To share time and a mutual skill with someone you care for. To have peace when doing something.

Joy is that overwhelming, pleasant, and surprised feeling that everything is right. It’s that smile on you face because of the simple fact you know that it’s all good.

You feel joy at seeing people surprised with a random act of kindness, being able give someone something they were not expecting but needed and seeing the smile on their face as they felt the joy of knowing someone cares.

Joy is not what you have materially. It is a spiritual thing. It’s a combination of happiness and contentment. It’s all the other symbols of Advent – hope, peace, and love – woven together.

Joy radiates energy. It is doing things you are good at combined with making others happy. It is freely sharing your gifts and talents to make life better for someone else. Joy is inextricably connected to giving. Joy comes from seeing the other person’s response when you give.

It’s that internal tickle or smile – and whenever you come back to that experience – either in real time or as a memory - it brings out that little smirk again.

Joy can be just a moment in time – like the instant you see a perfect rainbow that reminds you that everything is going to be OK – because whatever happens, it is bigger than just you. Looking back on your life, you will find joyful moments that you carry with you always.

Joy can be a special look from a child – or can involve the people around you. Joy often involves other people – but not always. You can experience joy in solitude, especially in nature because that is where you often feel connected to God.

Joy can create more joy – it’s very expansive. It’s when you make a real difference in someone else’s life. Joy is often magnified when it is experienced with others, bounced off of, and reflected by others.

Joy is a feeling anytime your heart is over flowing with love, or someone has caused me to laugh with wild abandon – Wow this is joy! But, I have always felt “it”, and I mean ever since I was a child, in church at various times but always on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday morning. It’s not something I can describe accurately except to say that a warm glow seems to flow over me – and it’s joy.

Last but not at all least, that feeling you get after having done something nice for someone else. It’s like a double dose of joy – theirs and your own!

Joyfulness and gratefulness go hand in hand.

REFLECTION ON JOY #3

For me personally, Joy is something that wells up from the very deepest part of my heart and soul. It is most certainly a gift from God. I came across a long list on the internet of sources of joy. Some of them rang true for me – falling in love, laughing so hard your stomach hurts. Doing something you really love and having someone whom you respect tell you that you did a good job. Hearing a child say "I Love You" when you didn't say it first. Watching a sunrise. Watching a sunset. Listening to Louie Armstrong sing "What a Wonderful World” – among other things.

As I think back on my sabbatical/renewal time, three instances of joy stand out for me. One was when we reached the Incan ruins of Choquechirao after an arduous two day trek. It was the kind of hike where you wonder if you made a big mistake even starting and whether you would actually reach your goal.

But we did. We had made it – all five of us (and our 4 Peruvian guides, now also friends) – me with my iffy knees and Joe with his not-so-good hip.

Unlike Machu Picchu where 2000 people are allowed to enter the site each day, we saw perhaps a dozen other people that day. After all, you have to walk (or ride pack horses) to get to Choquechirao. There are no buses to take you up the winding mountain paths to this sacred site.

Choquechirao was so quiet. The day was so clear, and among these ancient stones we could feel the sacred all around us. However, the best was yet to come. You see, we looked up in the sky and saw a condor circling overhead. For native Peruvians, the condor symbolizes the upper world, the world of the spirit. The condor is the messenger of the gods. In traveling to and now experiencing Choquechirao, we had made a mysterious and sacred connection – with God and with one another. This was joy - connecting with the holy right here on earth.

Another time I felt joy was when Joe and I were hiking in the Highlands of Scotland. Though it rained practically every day, this was the day when we were particularly glad to have our gortex parkas and rain pants.

The rain was pelting down on us, and the wind was whipping. The trail was more like a stream bed. And the stream beds that crossed the trail had all but washed it out in many places.

We had just made it across one particularly rushing gushing stream and with three other people had helped a group of Dutch women cross with their guide.

In a cold and wet sort of way, I felt so vibrant, so absolutely alive. There could have been no better place to be at that particular moment in time. For me, joy is intrinsically tied to life – and the sure and steadying knowledge that it throbs within you – and that it and all creation is a sacred gift.

A third time I felt joy was when Joe and I maneuvered the heavy granite stone bench from our car to the hand truck to the center of the labyrinth and finally had it positioned. We sat on the bench and looked out into the woods. I, for one, felt a certain sense of peace.

There is an enormous pine tree not far from the labyrinth – the kind that you can not encircle with your arms because the trunk is way too big. I wonder how long it has been growing there. Anyway, it reminds me that neither height nor depth nor anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God. Surely there is joy in that faith.

by Rev. Nancy Foran, pastor of Raymond Village Community Church, Raymond, Maine
www.rvccme.org