The Way of Mary: Joy

 

Good Monday morning, good Advent pilgrims on The Way of Mary. Today is the 7th Day of the O Antiphons. O Emmanuel: O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:come to save us, Lord our God!

Sr. Joan Chittister has some wonderful thoughts and prayers on the Antiphon:

"Jesus Emmanuel has already come. It is not a matter now of Christ’s being where we are; it is a matter of our being in the consciousness of where Christ is in life and where He is not as well. Where is Christ for you? Is there a place in your life that you know down deep is not in the spirit of Christ at all?" https://www.eriebenedictines.org/

I love that meditation the most, I think. Christ has already come. We are celebrating the coming of Christ, the fact that Christ has come and is with us in the newborn child named Jesus, first of his name, breaker of chains, maker of miracles, challenger of tradition, son of Mary and Joseph, Palestinians from the House of David, born in Bethlehem, who lived in Nazareth.

Emmanuel means God with us. Think about that for a minute. It really does help to put things into better perspective.

Christmas is about being in the consciousness of where Christ is in life and where he is not.

The question of Christmas is not what to buy for whom or what you might get for Christmas. The question of Christmas is where Christ is and where Christ is not in your life.

And note, please, that now, we are talking about Christ, not Jesus, per se. We are talking about the spirit of the Resurrected Jesus, which is The Messiah, the Christ.

Game changer.

So, as I walk The Way of Mary, the word for me, today, is JOY.

I found this quote from Brene Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection:

“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments. . . . A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable. I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.

Because true joy—biblical joy—does not sweep tensions under the rug. It tolerates doubt and sadness; fear and loss. It is a celebration of God’s presence with us, even—especially—in the darkest of days.”

One of the places on that string of twinkle lights where I find joy is my friend and colleague, Stephen E Moore, who is one of my absolute favorite church nerds. He’s brilliant with a wicked sense of wit and humor. This morning, noting that the liturgical calendar for today is empty, Stephen set out to fix that, reporting a long list of events to be celebrated on this day.

Like? Well, like today is Festivus – the Seinfeld holiday for the non-religious, it is touted as "a Festivus for the rest of us."

But, here’s my favorite. Stephen writes, “The 23rd of December is "Christmas Adam." It is so called because, according to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis, the first two humans were Adam and Eve. The 24th of December is called "Christmas Eve" because "eve" is a variant of a Middle English noun meaning a period before a holiday, event, or occasion.

Genesis makes it clear that Adam (2:7) was created before Eve (2:21-22). Therefore it is correctly said that "Adam came before Eve." If Christmas Eve is 24 December then Christmas Adam must occur on the eve of the eve of Christmas Day. It is the proper moniker for the day before Christmas Eve. The absence of this term from encyclopaedias and dictionaries should not be at all dispiriting nor dissuasive of its proper use. Today (23 December) is a fitting day on which to wish someone "Happy Christmas Adam," then tomorrow "Happy Christmas Eve," and then December 25th "Happy Christmas Day."

Those who disagree may look forward to a weighty lump of lignite coal in their stocking -- filthy, high residue, polluting, sulphurous, and ashy -- on the night after Christmas Adam, which is Christmas Eve.

I. Love. This. I think it’s hilarious.

You can’t see it, but my little heart strings are twinkling with joy. I think this festival of “Christmas Adam” ought to be lifted up and celebrated just for the joy that silliness brings to the adult heart, hardened as it has been over the years, after carrying the weight of so many burdens and healing as often as it needs to, from heartbreak.

In this new addition to the Book of Occasional Services, we would, of course, need to include the biblical passages which set right the order of the creation – Adam first, then Eve, which also provides a special nod to soothe the fragile male ego. That reading would be followed by The Quaker Version of “Silent Night” which, of course, contains no notes and is, in fact, silent.

We might light a few candles during the silence. Episcopalians love to light candles, in proper left to right order. Of course.

Our Christmas Adam Service should also include a rendition of “Hark, the herald angels sing,” during which everyone is required to tilt our heads back and look up while we sing the “Glory to the newborn king” part. My friend, Rosemary says she does this every year. “Can’t help it,” she says.

Neither can I prevent the giggle of joy that dances in my throat at the mere thought of a whole congregation looking like a gathering of the characters in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Except, of course, it would be the Christmas Adam Service. Which, of course, demands, the playing of “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6zypc_LhnM)

Christ has already come. So, to answer Sr. Joan’s question, “Where is Christ for you?” I look for the small moments of joy, especially those in unexpected or forgotten places.

You could miss them, because they tend to twinkle ever so briefly and sometimes, in the darkness of the moment, can seem fragile and frail.

You’ll know because a small giggle of joy will dance in the back of your throat when you tilt your head back as you did when you were a child singing your favorite Christmas hymn.

I hope something good happens to you today.

 

Bom dia. (Oh, and Happy Christmas Adam!)