The theme of Advent 3 week is JOY. Yesterday we looked at the shepherds in Luke 2 who saw a heavenly choir of angels praising God saying, “Joy to the World” the Lord is come. Singing is one way we express our joy at receiving good news but there are other ways. In Matthew 2 we read about wise men. Legend has it that there were three and they came from the East but just how far east of Jerusalem is not known. And because Herod later had children under age two slaughtered in Bethlehem, we suspect there is a time lapse between the birth and their arrival.
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’
Matthew 2: 1-2
Herod hears the news confirmed about the birth of the promised Messiah, but is threatened by it, so when he realizes the wise men have not returned to report, he lashes out and tries to resolve his fear by killing innocent children. The priests who knew the prophecy about Bethlehem did nothing but report to Herod. Good news does not always result in joy and praise. On the other hand, those wise men discerned from their studies that something great was happening and they invested time and energy into checking it out. And if legend is right, they expressed their joy in gifts of material goods. We are not all singers. Some of us are servants, studiers, and scientists. We express our joy with our hands and our works.
As an elder this Christmas having just gone through the passing of my spouse, I realize tears can also be a way of affirming the hand of God in my life. I cannot say I am glad for the passing but I can affirm the presence of a God who speaks through stars, through prophecy, and through the journeys he leads us on. It is a quiet, sad joy of being included in the great story that is unfolding through history.
I do not know if you are singing this Christmas, traveling, watching for the star, researching where the event is taking place, sitting by a declining loved one or humbly bowing before a God who leads one step at a time,but I do know that joy takes many forms. Advent 3 celebrates that we can be joyful in all sorts of situations because God has come and is with us, even when it seems far away. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 