Being Present to Joy
The Third Sunday of Advent
Reflection By Amy McCreath
Oh I do wish you joy
And I wish you happiness
- Dolly Parton, I Will Always Love You
“Let’s go!”
Twice a year, my colleague Paul would show up in the doorway of my office at 9 a.m. and issue this directive. I would drop whatever I was working on, and walk with him to the office of our colleague Johanna, and together we would stand in her doorway and exclaim, “Let’s go!”
The three of us would leave behind whatever we thought we were going to do that day, climb into Paul’s enormous Buick, and drive up to the coast, listening to Dolly Parton songs all the way. We would eat lobster rolls for lunch, which Paul always insisted on paying for, and stop at a famous fudge store on the way back.
Paul’s “Let’s go!” always came in the middle of months that felt overwhelming. They interrupted me when I was struggling to trust that I could truly be the vessel of love and justice that God was calling me to be. They came when my hands were weak and my knees feeble. They came when everything felt too complicated and my skills inadequate.
Paul’s “Let’s go!” was a simple invitation, and the day away was a simple activity. It was a spiritual practice, really: Step away. Be present to the possibility of joy today. Simple. But a powerful practice.
The third Sunday of Advent arrives like a hearty, “Let’s go!” offered by a generous companion. Three weeks into a season of watching and waiting in hope for the coming Light, Love, and Truth that is the incarnation of God in Jesus, we are weary. If we are living in northern climes, the days are growing shorter and chillier, and our calendars are overcrowded with responsibilities as the holidays draw near. On this third Sunday of Advent, the church invites us to rejoice—gaudete in Latin—and refreshes our hearts and eyes by adorning itself in the color rose. Refreshed for the journey still ahead to Christmas, we can rejoice now because we know that God is faithful to God’s promises. Jesus is coming soon.
Mary, the mother of our Savior, is the voice of Gaudete Sunday, the one standing in the doorway saying, “Let’s go!” Her spirit is rejoicing, because she knows in her very body that God is fulfilling all those promises announced by Isaiah so long ago. God is showing mercy, casting down the mighty, and lifting up the lowly. And God is doing that within her and for her and within us and for us, now and always.
So sing along with Dolly Parton today, or sing the Magnificat, or just let out a big “Hurrah!” For God is good and present and doing more than we can imagine.