Seasonal Blessing for Pentecost / Ordinary Time

May the Spirit of truth lead us into all truth, giving us grace to confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and to proclaim the wonderful works of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Vicar's Voice - Pentecost 7 - "Joy"

Joy is a choice. Our lives are so short; to live with joy seems to be a no-brainer. Why waste time on issues that we can't control? - "Pathways to Joy," Dr. Barbara A. Holmes

Maybe it's me.

But for some strange reason I am preoccupied with doom-scrolling, futility-affirming, and self-pitying distractions. Granted, there are many things that seem to possess our attention: the escalating conflicts within and without our nation, the challenge to keeping empathy and sympathy for and with those who are different from ourselves, and the fast-paced progress of technology and its divisiveness. The more I think about all of it, the more I feel like a puppet - and I can see all the strings attached to my body, but when I look up, they disappear in a cloud and I cannot tell who is pulling them!

Dr. Baraba A. Holmes, noted author and theologian, encourages us to strive to grab hold of and hold on to joy. According to the dictionary, joy is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. It is something that, if we are open to its causes, can sustain and empower us to a state of extraordinary positivity.

Dr. Holmes suggests several ways to encourage and grow our capacity for joy. First, she says to be intentional about how we expect to realize that it is in our lives. Meditation and prayer, shutting out the noise from the world, can make room in our thoughts for joyful reflection to make its way in. One of my spiritual disciplines, a gift from my Order of Julian of Norwich engagement, is taking time to simply sit in silent contemplation, allowing "no-thing" to take hold of my attention. She suggests using music (preferably instrumental - I like New Age jazz) to help us "take the elevator down" and to enjoy inaction and thought-less-ness. She also says get out into nature, and allow the beauty of the world to remind us of the joy God had in creating it (and us). Be also aware of the sounds of joy: children playing, lovers laughing, and, as she reframes it, the traffic that slows us down and allows us to be where we are and not where we are going.

It is also important, according to Dr. Holmes, to allow ourselves to "ritualize" joyful moments in our lives - birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, births are all opportunities to affirm joy. She even suggests, reflection on Thich Nhat Hanh, that we find a way to "Be Joy" in moments that are challenging. Sad occasions, moments of loss, can be also moments that we remember joy and the power of its light to overcome darkness.

And if all else fails, Dr. Holmes says, "Fake it 'til you make it!" When we white-knuckle grip our sadness, fear, loneliness, helplessness, it takes us over. Smiling in adversity, rolling our eyes at ignorance and prejudice, laughing at a bully, are all ways of taking the power away from darkness and putting in positivity. She also reminds us that this is more easily done in community - in church, where we pray with sinners and share a sacred meal marking the joy of our salvation; in mission, where we replace the hunger and uncertainty in the world with bags of food or smiles of hope; in evangelizing, where we share our faith journey with others, encouraging them to know that lives lived in darkness and fear are lives half-lived.

Joy is a good attitude, if you can cultivate it. But you won't cultivate it if you don't intentionally try to do so.

Wishing you joy!

Father Shawn