Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Matthew 11:2-11
Gospel Reading for the Third Sunday of Advent: Joy (Year A)
John the Baptist was in prison. He figured it would happen eventually. You bring the prophetic thunder down on a thin-skinned despot enough, he’s going to toss you in jail. It didn’t stop John from continuing to call out Herod. But he also had lots of time on his hands to think and he wondered about his cousin. Was he really the One?
John’s disciples would come periodically with what Jesus was up to. The stories were incredible, but also sometimes confusing. Sure there were the miracles, but there was also the interactions with the centurions and tax collectors. Jesus’ disciples didn’t exactly seem to fit the fasting and praying aesthetic of John’s disciples. And, again, John was in prison. The imprisonment had to tug at him and make him ask questions. So John sent his followers to ask the big question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
It was a blunt question, which fit John perfectly like a camel-hair suit. One likes to think that Jesus chuckled at his cousin’s brassiness. Then he gave a non-straightforward answer, which fit Jesus perfectly. He told the Baptist’s buddies to tell John what they had seen and heard: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Then he added, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
What a strange way to end that answer. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. Was it a dig at John’s question? Was it Jesus wielding his wry sense of humor? Was it just an actual blessing? Blessed is the one that sees what Jesus has said and done and can run with it. Blessed is the one who is not tripped up by the centurion/tax collector stuff. Blessed is the one who sees what’s going on and rejoices in it.
One assumes the answer satisfied John. He never sent his disciples for a followup.
Advent has this interplay between darkness and light. That dichotomy can be a little simplistic. There’s actually a lot to learn in the dark and God speaks just as much in the night. But sometimes the dark can seem suffocating and you just want some spark to guide your way. That’s how I feel somedays. A lot of days. There are some things about this world that just sucks the joy out of you. Somedays it seems like we are stumbling all over the place, hurting each other, misrepresenting what this faith is all about. And it makes me wonder if I should be waiting for something else. And then I remember Jesus.
Jesus’ answer to John reminds me what the epicenter of the joy of my faith is. It is Jesus. Jesus who is giving and forgiving, blessing, the glory of God fully alive, teaching love, giving sight to the blind, helping the lame walk, welcoming the outcast, letting the deaf hear symphonies, making the dead dance, and proclaiming good news to the poor. When I really, truly remember all of that, I feel lighter.
There is this deep and abiding joy when I encounter who he is. It’s more than happiness. It is this hope-infused lifting of my spirit. I see him embracing the leper and laughing with children. I see the fire in his eyes when people are treated unjustly. I hear the passion in his preaching and the longing in his prayer. I see the pictures that he paints of Samaritans stooping to help their would-be enemies and lovesick fathers sprinting towards their wayward sons. It’s why I stay. In spite of everything, the joy I find in Jesus is why I stay.
Earlier this week, I was making an Advent playlist for myself because I’m the kind of nerd who makes himself an Advent playlist. And I wanted a stretch of songs where each track touched on Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. At this time of the year, the obvious choice for joy would be “Joy to the World.” But I was poring through Christmas albums featuring bands that I enjoy and came across a recording of “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” by The Brilliance. It was just what I was looking for:
Thou art giving and forgiving
ever blessing, ever blest
well-spring of the joy of living
ocean-depth of happy rest
Thou the Father, Christ our Brother—
all who live in love are Thine
Teach us how to love each other
lift us to the Joy Divine
Joyfully, I do adore him and I pray that I may learn to love and be lifted to the Joy Divine.
