Thought for Today
1 Kings 1:40 And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise.
Psalm 98:4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Matthew 2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Last night Greta and I attended the Boston Pops opening night of their “Holiday Pops – Keep the Magic Going.” First, other than an ongoing and very irritating issue with our home alarm system, we had a wonderful evening. We went out to dinner before the concert and then sat at a table on the concert floor to enjoy an evening of beautiful, festive music. We especially enjoyed an innovative and entertaining version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. The program included the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a talented narrator. We all had a lot of fun.
I have been reflecting on Advent this week and have repeatedly noted that Advent is an extended birthday party celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. From childhood we (hopefully) all learned to associate birthday parties with fun. Ironically, the word fun does not appear in most Bible translations. I did find 2 verses in different translations that did use the word fun in the sense of making fun of someone or something.
“fun – noun: 1. What provides amusement or enjoyment; 2. A mood for finding or making amusement; 3.a. amusement, enjoyment; b. derisive jest; 4. Violent or excited activity or argument.” (www.merriam-webster.com)
Is it wrong to think about Advent, birthday parties and having fun all together during this season? Is it wrong to even think about having fun in terms of church and worship? Everyone who has heard me remark about how much fun I am having in ‘retirement’ and my second career as a pastor knows my answer to those questions.
Maybe fun is too ordinary a word to describe our emotions during Advent or even regular worship as we pay homage to our Creator God. The word joy does appear often in the Bible. Depending on the translation, joy appears more than 200 times. Not surprisingly to me, there are numerous references to joy in the Psalms. That phase above about making a joyful noise to the Lord appears in 6 different Psalms.
I don’t remember ever getting a gold star in Vacation Bible School for memorizing any of those 6 Psalms, but I have remembered “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth” as long as I can remember. My life and my theology have been greatly influenced by the understanding that it is the wish and intent of our Creator God for “all the earth” to be joyful and to loudly proclaim our joy.
Although I have been a Calvinist for most of my life, and although Calvinists are often referred to as “God’s Frozen Chosen,” I find no conflict between my faith and my joy. In fact, I find that each influences and reinforces the other. I remember seeing a bumper sticker long ago which read something along the lines of “Know God, know Peace. No God, no Peace.” I would amend or at least add to that sentiment, “Know God, know joy. No God, no Joy.” For me, in that sense, my faith provides ‘fun’ as defined above, “What provides amusement or enjoyment.”
Sometimes we encounter that last definition of fun when things are not going well and we are asked, “Are we having fun yet?” That question does seem to be asked more often as we age and experience the vicissitudes of the inevitable consequences of life. My faith and my joy (usually) prompt me to reply along the lines of, “If it got any better, I could sell tickets.”
I do find that reinforcing interaction of joy, fun, and faith most perceptible during our primary liturgical holidays of Pentecost, Easter and Advent. Advent truly is an extended birthday party celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. And, even for those of us ‘of an age,’ birthday parties remain rightfully and joyfully fun.
Remember this Advent that it is not only okay but is especially appropriate to have fun and to be joyful. We are celebrating the birth of God’s Son, the promised Savior and Redeemer of Creation.
Stay safe, feel the joy and fun of Advent, trust God,
Pastor Ray