The New Testament brings us the good news of personal freedom and the reality of our individual relationship with God. Joy continues to surprise us as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
Luke’s Infancy Narrative (Luke 1-2) is likely well-known to us. It is also likely that the story of the disciples who meet Christ on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-25) is also a familiar one. When we read these two stories side by side we understand that Christ’s joy defeats all sadness, bridges all gaps, heals all wounds, brings light to all darkness, and is always present in our lives. When we find ourselves in circumstances that offer every reason to doubt the power of God’s joy, we might turn to these verses to remind ourselves that with God all things are possible, with God there is always hope in the midst of despair, with God there is always a reason to celebrate.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right-hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
The New Testament brings us the good news of personal freedom and the reality of our individual relationship with God. Joy continues to surprise us as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus steps into the Gospel of Mark as a grown man seeking baptism from his cousin, John. In this way, Mark moves directly into the substance of Christ’s story. Jesus comes as one of us to heal, restore, liberate and transform. Mark records Jesus’ telling of the parable of the sower who plants the Word on the trodden path, among the rocks, in the thorns, and on fertile ground. The joy of God’s word takes root only in rich soil. Let us spend some time today preparing ourselves for the reception of God’s joy.
Mark 4:13-20: Jesus says: Do you not understand this parable?Then how will you understand any of the parables?The sower sows the word.These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
We might believe that in order to bear fruit we must rid our lives of thorns and stones and hardness; and it is true that the elimination of these obstacles would certainly smooth the way for God’s word to take hold of us in a permanent and lasting way. But when we look closely at the last of Jesus’ words in this parable we might be surprised by God’s joy.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
It is not so much that joy flourishes in the uprooting of all thorns and the clearing of all rubble; rather, we find infinite joy in God when we accept God’s Word . . . and agree to work in God’s vineyard. On this day when we celebrate the joy of the Holy Family, let us determine that we will live as sisters and brothers in Christ who hear, accept, and move forward with the Good News of Joy.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar. You may want to visit the Joy for the Journey blog at www.joyforthee.blogspot.com.
The New Testament brings us the good news of personal freedom and the reality of our individual relationship with God. Joy continues to surprise us as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
In the Gospel of Matthew we hear the familiar story of three wise seekers following not only a singular star in the heavens but also a call of the heart. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, the women who accompanied Jesus are astounded by joy when they arrive at his tomb to discover that he has risen as promised.
Matthew 2:9-10:And so the wise men left Herod, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
God says: You do not have to travel across continents or go to faraway shores to find me. I am here within you. And just as I live in you so also does my mercy. Just as I accompany you so also does my love. Just as I guide and carry you, so does my joy.
Matthew 28:8: So the women left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
God says: Just as my first apostles ran to share the joy of Easter with the world, so might you share the joy of Christmas during this special time of year. Just as these women are open to the reality of my love for them, so might you be open to the good news that I have come to restore and heal. In this Christmastide, rest in the joy of this child’s birth and allow my joy to fully live in you.
When we hear the Christmas story we focus on the sweetness of the child and God’s provision and providence; we tend to stay away from the story of the cross . . . yet it provides us with a greater example God’s joy in us. Matthew links this joy in the vulnerable child with joy in the loving man. We might spend time with this linkage today . . . and allow God’s joy to show us something wonderful and new.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
“The office of prophet was due to a direct call from God. It was not the result of heredity, just as it was not a permanent gift but a transient one, subject entirely to the divine will”. (Senior 877) Today joy comes upon us from the depths of fear experienced by a people lost and roaming . . . as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
Baruch, the well-known secretary of the prophet Jeremiah, records beautiful verses in both poetry and prose that present a prayer for displaced people. Viewed in this way, the words help those who are lost or misplaced, those who suffer during this time of year when so many others celebrate. When contemplated in the silence of personal exile, these ancient words might set lost feet down on ground once thought unstable; they might give a new horizon and a clear path to those living abandoned or in pain. On this day awaiting the arrival of God in our midst, we take time with these words and rhymes . . . as we listen for God’s message of hope, healing and joy.
Take off your robe of mourning and misery . . .
God says: Your days of loss and suffering have come to an end.
Bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name . . .
God says: Decide to stand in the joy I shower on you . . .
God will show all the earth your splendor . . .
God says: I know that you believe I have abandoned you . . .
You will be named for God forever . . .
God says: Yet I have never left your side, I have never left your heart . . .
Look to the east and the west and see your children gathered at the word of the Holy One . . .
God says: Do not despair that all of your energy and work have been lost for in this you are incorrect . . .
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you . . .
God says: You have been apart and separate for a time but you have not been alone . . .
God will bring them back to you . . .
God says: All of your lost hopes are not, in fact, lost. They live on in all those whom you have touched as you have traveled your road of exile and sadness. Do you not see how many ripples you have sent out upon the waters?
For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age old depths and gorges be filled to level ground . . .
God says: Have I not just done the impossible . . . arrived as God yet as a human babe?
For God is leading you in joy, by the light of holy glory, with mercy and justice for company.
God says: Remember that I have done all of this and more. I continue to hold you in my own heart and plans. You continue to be more important to me than you imagine. Each time you show mercy despite your painful circumstances you tell the world about my love for you. Each time you stand for justice despite your littleness you show the world the great love I have placed in you. Each time you live in me, my heart bursts with happiness in you. Remember all of this and know that I love you . . . and know that I always will.
Today we give thanks for God’s constant attendance on us . . . even in those times when we have felt alone. If the holiday season is a time of trial, spend time with Baruch today.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990. RG 323. Print.
“The office of prophet was due to a direct call from God. It was not the result of heredity, just as it was not a permanent gift but a transient one, subject entirely to the divine will”. (Senior 877) Today joy comes upon us from the depths of fear as a people lifts hope high . . . waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
Full of symbols and imagery, this book of prophecy signals an impending change when a new Jerusalem will replace the vanquished one. Many of the ancients settled on the simple understanding that a new city would rise physically from the foundations of the old; and in so doing, they missed the greater portent of the Messiah’s coming. The apostle John (2:19) records Christ’s promise to raise up again the ruined temple in three days. And so does Jesus promise to return from the dead to rescue the faithful. This is an event to celebrate, even in the midst of despair and fear.
Verse 2:10:Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord.
Today we celebrate the arrival of the master healer and we remember that joy is most sweet when it fulfills the age-old promise to arrive in the hour of sorrow. Christ’s joy offers new life in the face of death, and dims the memory of all suffering. For Christ’s joy is found in God’s infinite mercy and the power of the Spirit to bring us God’s never-ending love. Let us rejoice with the shepherds and angels at this marvelous entrance God makes into our lives . . . in the sweet person of Mary’s child.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urge you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990. 877. Print.
“The sixth century B.C. was an age of crisis, a turning point in the history of Israel. With the destruction of the temple and the interruption of its ritual, the exile of the leaders and loss of national sovereignty, an era came to an end”. (Senior 1017) Today joy surprises us from the depths of despair as a people lifts hope high . . . waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
This book of verses expresses the profound grief of a people stretched beyond the limits they had imagined bearable. The jubilant bride has become the bereft widow. Abandoned and disgraced, suffering the wrath of a conquering nation, besieged by guilt and every kind of negative emotion, the people of God await rescue. The faithful raise high their outrageous hope that God will transform their lives as they rely on the Lord’s infinite compassion and love. Joy seems a distant memory to the people of God . . . yet, we know that the awaited Messiah arrives in this holiest of nights. The awaited Messiah is indeed already among us.
Verse 2:15:All who pass along the way clap their hands in derision at you; they hiss and shake their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem, “Is this the city of which they said, ‘The perfection of beauty, a joy to all the earth’?”
These verses presage the story of Christ’s passion and death on Calvary when passers-by mocked him, taunting him to call on God for deliverance. These words recall a sweet time of happiness when all was well, and they foretell a time when the rescue they so sorely need will arrive as promised.
The five laments in this book “combine confession of sin, grief over suffering and humiliation of Zion, submission to merited chastisement, and strong faith in Yahweh’s love and power to restore. The union of poignant grief and unquenchable hope reflects the constant prophetic vision of the weakness of man and the strength of God’s love; it also shows how Israel’s faith in Yahweh could survive the shattering experience of national ruin”. (Senior 1017)
Just as these ancient people place their hope in God who saves and heals, so do we place our hope in the child who comes into our lives this night of nights. Let us take a few moments today to study Copely’s rendering of The Nativity above, and let us gather our lamentations over all that pains us. Let us also gather our individual and collective hope and know that despite dire circumstances and ruin, with God all will be well. And let us open ourselves to the joy that God has in store for us for God, Emmanuel, is among us.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urge you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
“The office of prophet was due to a direct call from God. It was not the result of heredity, just as it was not a permanent gift but a transient one, subject entirely to the divine will”. (Senior 877) Today joy surprises us from the depths of despair as a people lifts hope high . . . waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
The prophet Jeremiah responds to God’s call as a young man in the 13th year of King Josiah, approximately 612 B.C.E. He persists faithfully in conveying God’s word to a recalcitrant people “with enthusiasm and hope”. (Senior 949) He remains in the rubble of Jerusalem’s ruins but is forced into exile in Egypt by conspirators. Tradition tells us that he was murdered by these countrymen and that his prophecy was recorded shortly after his death. (Senior 949)
Jeremiah 15:16: When I found your words, I devoured them; your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart, because I bear your name, Lord, God of hosts.
God’s word sustains and upholds us; it nurtures the joy within. Jeremiah’s enthusiasm for his God and God’s word sustain us today.
Jeremiah 31:13: Then young women shall make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will show them compassion and have them rejoice after their sorrows.
God’s love redeems and rescues us; it calls forth the joy within. Jeremiah’s fidelity to his God and God’s mercy liberates us today.
Jeremiah 33:9: Judah will be to me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.
God’s goodness heals and transforms us; it celebrates the joy within. Jeremiah’s passion for his God and God’s power renews us today.
As we await the birth of the Christ who rescues, transforms, heals and makes new, let us reflect on God’s power to bring life out of ruin, healing out of destruction and hope out of death for a renewal of life.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urge you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990. 877 & 949. Print.
“The office of prophet was due to a direct call from God. It was not the result of heredity, just as it was not a permanent gift but a transient one, subject entirely to the divine will”. (Senior 877) Today joy surprises us from the depths of despair as a people lifts hope high . . . waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
In the 8th Century B.C.E. the nations of Israel and Judah are threatened and then overcome by the Assyrians to the north and the Egyptians to the south. The prophecy of Isaiah, thought to be the combined work of several men, takes us on the rollercoaster ride of political, social and moral upheaval the faithful of Yahweh experience. But despite the dreadful events and circumstances that surround the faithful and strip away all they hold dear, the words of this prophecy bring hope.
Isaiah 24:14: They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for joy in the majesty of the Lord, they shall shout from the western sea.
In a moment when we have no words, we allow the Spirit to give voice to our hope.
Isaiah 35:6: The lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy.
On a day when we find ourselves unwell or incapacitated, we allow Christ to heal our illness.
Isaiah 55:12: Yes, in joy you shall go forth, in peace you shall be brought home; mountains and hills shall break out in song before you, all trees of the field shall clap their hands.
In an hour when we see no reason to hope, we allow God to transform our fear.
Isaiah 65:18: Shout for joy and be glad forever in what I, the Lord, am creating.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urge you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990. 877-879. Print.
“The office of prophet was due to a direct call from God. It was not the result of heredity, just as it was not a permanent gift but a transient one, subject entirely to the divine will”. (Senior 877) Today joy surprises us from the depths of despair as a people lifts hope high . . . waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
Isaiah 14:7:The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into shouts of joy.
The world into which Jesus was born was not much different from our own when we consider that corruption, violence, turmoil and shame are countered by truth, love, healing and peace. Certainly in the twenty-first century a portion of us has access to instant global communication, the wonders of modern science and medicine, and the power to make choices about our individual and collective lives. Yet are we happier than the people of Jesus’ time? Are the poor less poor and the rich more compassionate? Do we care about and for one another more? Do we share the resources of God’s creation with one another?
Isaiah 14:7: The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into shouts of joy.
If we have not already explored how each of us fits into a global picture, we might take time to do so today. We might choose a topic such as poverty, water, food, basic human rights, the status of refugees around the world. We can use a search engine to look for maps or charts; or we might find an organization whose data we trust and see this information as a prophetic call to heal the world. If God speaks to us in such a way that we want to set into motion a healing action, we can visit www.change.org and step into the call we have heard. God gives us the power to become modern-day prophets, the power to lend our own words to a universal call of love, the power to take up this universal invitation to shout for joy at the Messiah’s coming.
Isaiah 14:7:The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into shouts of joy.
If God’s gift of prophecy is transient, its effects are infinite and everlasting. We step forward today in joyful acceptance and thanksgiving for this gift.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urge you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
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