Contagious Joy
“Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us.”
Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent
"The Book of Common Prayer," p. 160
This Collect captures us where we are during this season of Advent—yearning for the Lord, yet knowing we are not ready to receive Him. The Psalmist proclaims the grace of God, but recognizes our need for restoration and renewal:
“You have forgiven the iniquity of your people
and blotted out all their sins.
Restore us then, O God our Savior;
Let your anger depart from us.”
Psalm 85:2 and 4
Certainly, we need to be restored again and again, and the prophet Zephaniah tells us our great fortune: “The Lord, your God, is in your midst…he will renew you in his love.” (Zephaniah. 3:17)
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul repeats the Good News, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice…the Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:4-5)
In the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist’s announcement to the multitudes that Christ was in their midst echoed the joy of renewal of which Zephaniah spoke and the joy in the message of the Angel in the announcement of Jesus’ birth: “...behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which is come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:19)
This is Good News indeed! We, the people of God, are a people of joy because, in and through Jesus Christ, God the Father Almighty gives Himself to us even amid our darkest situations. So, as you rush through this season of Advent, filled as it is with shopping, parties, worries about how to pay the bills for Christmas, struggles with family visits, extra travel and all the rest—remember that the central message of the New testament is JOY.
And remember too that, as the people of God, we do not seek to withdraw from the problems and realities of life. Rather, we enter them and find that God is amid them also. God is there as the healing, redeeming, gracious, merciful, forgiving and loving God. That is why the New Testament Christians, in their darkest hours, could rejoice. And during all the craziness of our world today, we need the reminder that God gives His people joy because He gives Himself. So, no matter where we go in this world, no matter what problems we face, there we find God present—already acting to redeem and make new! “Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us.”
