Preached by the Right Reverend Grant Lynn Ford and the Reverend Robert Griffin at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, December 17, 2006.
The Third Advent Candle: JOY
People of God have always understood that the Eternal is the source of our joy. Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Eternal is your strength.”
The prophet Isaiah knew that God would give us even greater joy. He said:
“…you shall go out with joy, and be led forth in peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
The angel told the shepherd, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” O God: thank you for the joy that comes to us in this season, and especially in joy that comes to us through Jesus: his birth, his message, his life. Help us to share that joy with others. Amen.
Today we light the candle of Joy—the Joy that Jesus brings.
The rose candle is lit.
Isaiah 59:20-21
20“The Redeemer will come to Zion,” declares the Eternal, “to those in Jacob who repent of their sins.”
21“And here’s what I will do,” continues the Holy One, “this is my promise. My Spirit in you, which puts my words in your mouth and in your heart, will never depart from you or your children or their descendants to the end of time itself. My word is with you always!”
St. John of the Cross
On this road, therefore, to abandon one’s own way is to enter on the true way, or, to speak more correctly, to pass onwards to the goal; and to forsake one’s own way is to enter on that which has none, namely, God.
Luke 1:57-66, 80
57When Elizabeth’s son was born 58her neighbors and relatives heard about it, and rejoiced in God’s goodness to her, sharing her joy.
59Eight days later they gathered to circumcise the baby, and they called him Zacharias, after his father. 60But his mother shouted, “No! His name is John!”
61“But, Elizabeth,” they argued, “there’s no one in your family with that name.” 62So they turned to his father, and with gestures asked what his name should be.
63He asked for a writing tablet and — to everyone’s amazement — he wrote, “His name is John.” 64And instantly he was able to speak, and he began to praise God loudly.
65Now the neighbors were really amazed! Everybody was talking about it. 66“What’s he going to be like when he grows up?” they asked each other. “Surely the hand of the Almighty is with him.”
80And the child grew, physically strong and spiritually sensitive. When he was old enough to be on his own, he went to live in the desert until he began his public ministry.
I understand what it means to go “live in the desert” as John the Baptizer did when he reached adolescence. While in Jamaica it seemed very much like a “spiritual desert”, filled with the cactus of condemnation and shame. A people with such a Caribbean bent toward being happy, all the joy seemed to be beat out of them when it came to religion.
On the other hand, my visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil, was quite different. 75 women and men gathered at the Region 3 Leadership Conference, which was conducted in English, Spanish and Portuguese — all at the same time. What joy I found there! What enthusiasm! But then I had to remember that Sao Paulo is home to the largest gay pride parade in the world — over a million participants every year marching, laughing, and having a good time. It’s also home of the largest Pentecostal march, as they try to outdo the Pride Parade. That must be a sight!
I believe the future of MCC lies in Latin America and the Caribbean, but for two different reasons. South America is much more liberated, spiritually speaking, and MCC is about to experience real growth there. Jamaica, on the other hand, has been oppressed even by its own churches So it is appropriate that God has called us to this island nation where homosexuals are routinely murdered — just for being gay — and where newspaper articles written by religious people claim that killing homosexuals is doing God’s work. I have never seen a religion so off-track as Christianity in Jamaica. It’s heartbreaking!
But we also experienced life-changing joys, as our Canon Chancellor shared with you. To tell you more, here is the Academic Dean of Light University, the Reverend Robert Griffin.
In our Gospel lesson today, Zechariah’s mouth was sealed until his son was born. It was only when he wrote out the message given to him by the angel Gabriel that he was able to speak. And what did he say? He praised God, with great passion and joy.
I saw the same thing happen in Jamaica. People were living in fear, fear brought on them by their own religion and culture. I never saw a Christianity like it: a spirituality based on the worst of the Old Testament, such as “an eye for an eye” and “killing as the will of God”. Yes, I know it’s all there, yet both Christians and Jews world-wide have risen above that nonsense. But not in Jamaica, where shame and fear have silenced their joy.
Last weekend, 130 adults and five children heard the liberating power of God’s unconditional love. At first they couldn’t believe it, but when it went from head to heart, they came alive, they sang (every verse, and sometimes twice), they reacted with joy.
On this Sunday we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, as it’s called in the old Latin rite — the Sunday of Joy. We wear rose-colored vestments to express that joy. But mostly we offer thanks and praise for the liberating power of the Good News, the message that angels speak, the word that opens heads and hearts and mouths. In Jamaica, that process is happening, as more than 80 people became members of the Sunshine Cathedral, an act of liberation that has real potential for martyrdom, though we pray it never happens.
And while we pray for the Good News to spread in Latin America, while we pray for our new church members in Jamaica and all the people they will reach, we pray for our brothers and sisters in South Florida who still live in fear and condemnation. The threat of death may not be so apparent, but living in the death of fear and shame can be just as real.
I urge you to join us as we reach out as never before to the community around us: gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, transgendered, questioning, confused, or whatever. This message is for ALL people, for every one of us this morning. If you still feel the pain of condemnation, or if you’re ill in body, mind or spirit, here’s the Good News: “The truth shall set you free”. The joy of God can be yours, and it will change your life completely. I know it; I’ve experienced it; and we saw it happen right before our eyes in Jamaica.
Maybe it’s your turn to experience this joy. And that’s the truth!
I am a child of God!
I am free to experience joy!
I am strong in body, mind and spirit.
I am sharing the blessing with others.
We are free of condemnation,
we experience liberation in Christ,
and I like it like that!
And so it is! Amen!
