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Full-bodied, All-caps JOY
Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 1:46b-55

     An older Associate Pastor by the name of Ben preached an Advent sermon on joy some years back.  He was a good and godly man, but unremarkable.  Not much stood out in his life.  It was his assigned week to preach, the multipurpose worship space was packed, he began to deliver a message on joy in his usual low-key manner.  But about halfway through, he stepped in front of the pulpit and faced a side wall.  People stirred; some sat straighter, all were alert.  Pastor Ben now had their full attention.  He took a deep breath in and let it out, then stepped forward and did a somersault, landed it, and did another.  The crowd was stunned.  He then turned around and did two decent cartwheels.  His Sunday suit was now disheveled, and some of his hair stuck up at odd angles, but that wasn’t what everyone was staring at.  Pastor Ben stood before them with the most joyful expression they’d ever seen on him.  He seemed transformed.  They couldn’t take their eyes off from him -- he’d come fully alive.
     As he settled behind the pulpit again, he told the congregation that it’s good to talk and preach about the concept of joy but seeing someone embody joy is amazing.  There was a new level of energy in the room, a fresh interest in what Pastor Ben had to say.  He finished the last half of his sermon with an “Amen” but stayed in place.  He said there was one more thing yet to come, but he needed them to stand up, fold their chairs and put them away along the side walls.  They worked like a well-oiled machine and soon returned to the center of the worship space.  A grinning Pastor Ben nodded to the music team.  That was their cue to let loose the most joyful songs their church knew and loved to sing.  Every person playing an instrument or singing was enthusiastic.  The ushers had dimmed the overhead lights and turned on strands of twinkling lights around the room.
     Everyone, of every age, felt joy in and around them.  Before long the younger kids in the crowd started moving to the beat; little ones twirled, some jumped because it felt like the right thing to do.  Parents smiled down at them and soon joined in their celebration.  Those families had a wonderful ripple effect; soon, those who’d been singing praises to God also began to move their shoulders, sway to the beat, nod their heads.  It was incredible to look around and see everyone full of joy, embodying joy; it was an all-out God-praising dance party!    
       The following week, those who’d been at church spread the word about what had happened.  Words were used like “unexpected…yeah somersaults… started to pay attention… so confused about putting up our chairs… really great praise music… can’t get it out of my head now… never imagined something like that happening at church… I want to do that again!  You gotta come to church with me!”   
     Well, we weren’t at Pastor Ben’s church on that third Sunday in Advent. But joyfully praising God is our theme this morning.  We heard Mary’s song of praise to God.  She wasn’t in a modern church building; her setting was very different.  Let’s try to imagine that long-ago scene.  After the shock of the angel’s visit and the unexpected news that she was chosen to bear God’s Son, Mary must’ve sat there for some while.  Wouldn’t you need to?  She’d had a holy encounter with an angel and learned God had chosen her to be part of his divine salvation plan.  Her mind must have replayed the scene, the radiance of the angel, the authority in his words as he delivered his message.  She’d been so frightened at first, but the angel had reassured her: she had no reason to be afraid.   He came with good news, her womb would hold a boy child, the promised Savior.  What had only been written about in holy Scriptures, ink on a page, would become flesh and happen… through her.   
      I suspect it took Mary some time to ponder all of this, but at some point, joy began to course through her.  Elation.  Joy is meant to be expressed and shared with others, so that they too can rejoice and join in the celebration.  I wonder if she went around secretly smiling to herself, or if it was hard for her to sleep at night with everything tumbling through her mind?  I’ve especially wondered whether Mary sang her magnificent praise song spontaneously that day.  Did God empower her to not only express great faith and thanksgiving using poetic phrases, but also come up with a fitting tune to go with it?  While all things are possible with God, I like to believe God let Mary piece together the lines, considering the best way to express her joy.  It feels like a labor of love, of devotion to God.
     What’s more, this lengthy song has been preserved and passed down through the ages in Christ’s church.  I wonder if Mary continued to sing this song, so boldly and joyfully, in her home?  Did Jesus watch his mother sing it, and Joseph too?  Later when Jesus was an adult, about His Father’s business for three years, did Mary ever sing the song in the presence of his followers, or tell them about the visitation of the angel?  And after Jesus’ resurrection, as the early church came together, wouldn’t every new believer have wanted to hear Mary speak about the angel’s visit and sing her unique song of joyful praise?  Perhaps it became one of the early hymns of the church.   We’ll never know, but it’s something to ponder in our heart.
     Let’s turn now to some life application lessons for us based on Mary’s life.  For me, one of the most astonishing truths I’ve learned about God through Mary’s encounter is that He’s intimately aware of our lives.  God knew Mary was humble.  Many things in her life made God favor her.  Choose to use her.  Let that be reminder that His eye is on us, just as it is on the sparrow.  All is known, nothing is hidden.  He rightly perceives all that’s within us.
     Is this watch care something you’ve been aware of in your life?  Do you realize that all through our days, and in the night, God has a constant, tender awareness of us?  It reminds me of being a parent.  No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I have an awareness of where my children are.  When they both were under our roof, I felt like I had a good sense of what they were doing, how they were behaving, what worried them or gave them joy.  My meager and incomplete awareness of them cannot match God’s, nor can the cord of love I feel for them match God’s.  As we continue through Advent, I encourage you to realize and pay attention to God’s loving watch care over your life.
     Mary’s story also reveals that God is willing to use any one of us.  Mary was likely a teenager, engaged to be married, living in a small village.  Her hometown (and perhaps even Mary herself) might have been described as bland. Unremarkable.  But God is all-knowing; when that petite teenager was put on the spot with no time to mull things over, what came out of sweet Mary’s mouth was: yes, I’m willing to do as God asks of me.  
     God continually searches for people willing to listen today, to allow holy nudges to lead them, to walk in faith even when they cannot clearly see the entire path ahead. For some that’s behind a pulpit, or on a wonderful music team, like we have here.  The possibilities are infinite.  The needs are real.  The time is today and every day. 
    And perhaps most important of all is this.  Whatever we do, or wherever we go, let’s be people who embody joy.  Mary had joy in her life and her music.  Remember Pastor Ben, and how his face radiated joy after his gymnastic efforts?  Better yet, remember the whole church singing praises, having an unexpected dance party, every face so joyful?  People not yet on a journey with Jesus notice people who radiate joy.  It makes them sit up, stop being bored by God talk, and start paying attention.  So, let’s leave here with a little shimmy, with the heart of a twirling little girl and a pastor whose suit is rumpled, hair askew but with joy on our faces as mesmerizing as Pastor Ben’s.   Thanks be to God.  Amen.   

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