"Are We There Yet? Joy" - Sermon, December 15, 2019

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Community UMC, Quincy
“Are We There Yet? Joy”
Rev. Andrew Davis
December 15, 2019
Isaiah 35: 1-10
Matthew 11: 2-11

            As we are a little further into our Advent journey this morning, the questions “are we there yet?” Or “is it over yet?” might be getting a little more intense as we get closer to Christmas.  As of today, we are halfway there, although Christmas Day is only a week away from this coming Wednesday!!  It’s coming up faster than we may have imagined and surprisingly, I’m way ahead of the game this year when it comes to preparations, as all the worship bulletins are pretty well done, the choir is ready for their big moment at the Courthouse Sing this afternoon and will be ready for the 7:00pm Christmas Eve service, and the pageant is coming together nicely for next Sunday.  I can say for me, as busy as this season has been, I am actually feeling a good deal of peace, hope, and joy this year.  I’m really feeling more like Clark Griswald or Buddy the Elf than Mr. Scrooge or the Grinch.  While Advent takes us on a journey of peace and hope through the first couple weeks of the season, we find ourselves now traveling on a highway and making a stop at joy.   
            In today’s reading from Isaiah, we still find ourselves in the desert just as we were in the desert in Matthew’s gospel last week.  Except, instead of encountering John the Baptist calling the religious authorities a “brood of vipers,” we see signs of new life, blooms, and springs flowing in the desert, and people restored to wholeness, who in turn express joy!  It’s a beautiful image that is full of peace, Hope, and joy.  Even though we may ask ourselves, “are we there yet?” on this Advent journey just as we might on a long car trip, the closer to Christmas we get, we may start to begin feeling joy now that we’re getting closer, (I know a lot of students, teachers, and staff will be feeling joy after this week when school gets out for a couple weeks).  It’s how the people in Isaiah must be feeling after hearing such a prophecy, as Isaiah prophesies that the wilderness will become alive and “blossom abundantly” and how the people “shall see the glory of the Lord [and] majesty of our God” which is revealed to us through Jesus when God came to earth at Christmas (Isaiah 35: 2).  
            Like Isaiah prophesied long before Jesus began his earthly ministry,  in Matthew’s gospel, we encounter Jesus telling some of John the Baptist’s disciples the same words from Isaiah, as “the blind [receive] their sight, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them,” stuff that leads to a sense of joy (Matthew 11: 5).  Unlike last week when we encountered John the Baptist ranting and raving about repenting from sin and the End of the age, John the Baptist is now in prison, having upset the religious authorities to whom he referred to as a “brood of vipers” and will ultimately be beheaded at the order of Herod Antipas for crossing a line.  While we hear a message of joy in Isaiah and the same message from Jesus telling about the things happening to John’s disciples, John the Baptist is having his doubts.  
As John sits in prison, he is wondering if Jesus is really the messiah, or if the people have to keep waiting for the messiah,  similar to asking “are we there yet?” While Jesus shares a message of joy in the healing that has taken place among the people he has ministered to and the restoration to wholeness among many, John does not feel the same joy, which is understandable, as “prison can do that to a person – squeeze out the joy [and] hope.”[i] On the other hand, Jesus tells John’s disciples to bring the news of the messiah back to John, which should be a source of joy, although the text doesn’t exactly say what happens after that, whether John got the message from Jesus via John’s disciples or not. 
            Nevertheless, John the Baptist will receive praise from  Jesus for being Jesus’ forerunner, as Jesus’s ministry will be one of healing, bringing a new sense of wholeness, and in turn, a new sense of joy to a world in need of peace, hope, and healing which we still long for 2000+ years later.  Even as we await the birth of the Christ child in our hearts and Jesus’ return, we too can experience joy during this season.  I was commenting earlier in the week on social media and our weekly e-news how there is something special about towns like ours that come together and experiences communal joy, which we see in Isaiah as the people return to their land from exile via a highway, going through new life, and experiencing a new sense of wholeness, or how Jesus encounters the same communal joy when people are restored to wholeness.[ii]  Around here, we have experienced communal joy at Sparkle a week ago from Friday, the FRC women’s volleyball team’s state championship and celebration this past Wednesday, then this afternoon, we will gather at the Courthouse for the 50th Annual Courthouse Community Christmas Sing which is a source of joy for many.  Along with the beautiful music at this time of year, I find joy in the colorful lights and decorations, along with the good food and drink I’m sure I’ll be paying for come January.  
On the other hand, amidst the joy that we see happening around us this time of year, we do need to pause, be mindful, and acknowledge that not everyone experiences joy this time of year.  Think about John as he sits in prison, as joy is hard to come by for him at that moment, or for someone who has lost someone, lost a job, a pet, experiencing a broken relationship, or anything that makes joy hard to come by.  This is where there is opportunity to be hands of healing and to be present for anyone who is not experiencing joy.  It’s why we have a Blue Christmas service each year, as it’s a time of lamenting and sitting with our feelings, although it does point us towards hope, peace, and joy even when we don’t always feel hope, peace, or joy at this time of the year.
Even when joy does feel like it’s hard to come by at this time of year for many, we can all still experience the peace, hope, and joy in the birth of Christ.  One of my favorite Christmas carols is “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (pg. 240 in UMH) because whether we feel joyful or down at this time of year, God came to earth to teach ALL of us how to live, love, and reconcile, particularly in the line, “God and Sinners reconciled.” As Rev. Matt Rawle explains in the chapter on joy in Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience, 
God and sinners are reconciled, not just God and those who make all of the Advent worship opportunities.  Joyful, all ye nations rise, not just those who [share the same beliefs we do].  ALL people, not just the strongest or most successful, are invited to proclaim Christ’s birth.[iii]

            All means AlL here, whether we feel joy or not.  Nevertheless, “joy is the steadfast assurance that God is with us.”[iv] Even in the midst of exile, God was with the people of Israel over 3,000 years ago as they awaited a messiah, or one to save them. God was with the people who went to the desert to be baptized by John, and repented of their sins. God was with the Holy Family on their journey to Bethlehem and in their escape to Egypt.  And, 2000+ years later, God is still with us today.  God can still bring us peace, hope, joy, and love today, but it’s up to us to accept these gifts of peace, hope, joy, and love by putting our trust and faith in God.  And it’s up to us to carry on the ministry of Jesus each and every day when we go out to serve, or in our homes, in our schools, our workplaces, and everywhere that we go.  As we make our journey to Christmas and experience a birth of faith, or re-birth of our faith, what joy are you longing for in your heart today?  What brings you joy?  Or, what is causing you to feel less than joyful right now?  And, even if you are asking “are we there yet?” with us being almost there, what gifts of peace, hope, joy, and love are you willing to offer to the world as we continue preparing our hearts and homes for the birth of the Christ child? 
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let the church say, AMEN!   

[i] Derek Weber, “Are We There Yet? Joy” in Discipleship Ministries Preaching Notes – Third Sunday, Year A, 
[ii] Ibid.  
[iii] Matt Rawle, “An Altogether Joy” in Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2019), 90.
[iv] Ibid., 100.  

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