It's Time for a Little Joy!
Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
December 9, 2007
December is rapidly moving to a close, and a new year is on the horizon. It is full of promise, and yet it's full of uncertainty. Uncertainty often breeds fear and timidity. We can even get a bit cranky - especially during a time as stressful as this current season (whatever you choose to call it).
For me this is still the season of Advent, a season of preparation and self-examination. To this point, I've lit candles of hope and peace, and this morning it's time to light a third candle, the candle of joy. Although the carol “Joy to the World” will be sung in many a church come Christmas Eve (and perhaps earlier), for many this season is anything but joyful. The times are serious and the challenges many. There's the war and the elections (Iowa caucuses just two days after New Year's). The economic situation in the nation distresses many, especially those who are being laid off or perhaps struggle to make ends meet. It is easy to turn into Ebenezer Scrooge at a time like this.
Each celebration - to say nothing of the celebration of the New Year - has its own nuances and complexities, but at least part of each celebration is a sense of joy and happiness. Each has a party of some sort attached to it.
As we light the candle of joy, it's appropriate to step back from our normal routines to relax and rest. We don't do too much of that in our society, so we need to take advantage of our holidays. In fact, we need more of them so we can enjoy life more. “Stop,” they say, “and smell the roses” - indeed!
Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com and can be contacted at lompocdisciples@impulse.net or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA, 93438.
December 16, 2007
Lompoc Record
December 9, 2007
December is rapidly moving to a close, and a new year is on the horizon. It is full of promise, and yet it's full of uncertainty. Uncertainty often breeds fear and timidity. We can even get a bit cranky - especially during a time as stressful as this current season (whatever you choose to call it).
For me this is still the season of Advent, a season of preparation and self-examination. To this point, I've lit candles of hope and peace, and this morning it's time to light a third candle, the candle of joy. Although the carol “Joy to the World” will be sung in many a church come Christmas Eve (and perhaps earlier), for many this season is anything but joyful. The times are serious and the challenges many. There's the war and the elections (Iowa caucuses just two days after New Year's). The economic situation in the nation distresses many, especially those who are being laid off or perhaps struggle to make ends meet. It is easy to turn into Ebenezer Scrooge at a time like this.
I would try to shatter the darkness of the hour by telling a joke, but jokes aren't my forte. Nonetheless, I do believe that we need some joy in our lives. Indeed, we really need to have a good laugh - and not just a little chuckle, but one of those great laughs that shake us down to our toes. It is the kind of laugh that Santa might offer - a good “Ho! Ho! Ho!”
Even when times aren't difficult and the challenges many we have a tendency to take life and ourselves too seriously. Often religion, even my own religion, is a source of such seriousness - with constant reminders to “mind your p's and q's.” Every religion seems to have its dour side - which may be one reason why people get uncomfortable when I tell them what I do for a living!
That being said - about the dark side of faith - we all know that without a bit of joy and laughter life becomes unlivable. Without a sense of joy we find that disillusionment, pessimism, and cynicism take hold, coloring the way we live and relate to each other. We lose confidence in each other and instead of working together we fight one another. When this happens, no one really wins.
December is a season of holidays, which is why the phrase “Happy Holidays” is so appropriate this time of year. I know there has been a lot of uproar these past few years because businesses exchanged “Merry Christmas” for it, but there was no need for it. No one can take away the joy of Christmas for those who wish to celebrate it by saying “Happy Holidays.” Among the holidays celebrated this month is Hanukkah - the Jewish celebration of deliverance from tyranny - and Eid al Adha - the most sacred of Islamic feast days, which concludes the Muslim Hajj or Pilgrimage. There's the Winter Solstice and Kwanzaa, a rather recent addition to the December calendar that celebrates African and African-American heritage. Last but not least, there's Christmas.
Each celebration - to say nothing of the celebration of the New Year - has its own nuances and complexities, but at least part of each celebration is a sense of joy and happiness. Each has a party of some sort attached to it.
As we light the candle of joy, it's appropriate to step back from our normal routines to relax and rest. We don't do too much of that in our society, so we need to take advantage of our holidays. In fact, we need more of them so we can enjoy life more. “Stop,” they say, “and smell the roses” - indeed!
Finally, while it's possible to experience joy in solitude, especially if you're standing before something of great beauty, joy is most fully experienced in the context of community. As Mark Twain said:
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of Joy you must have somebody to divide it with.”
Indeed, it's difficult to have a party alone. It usually takes at least one more person, while it's quite likely that the more the merrier. Would you join me in community and light the candle of joy?
Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com and can be contacted at lompocdisciples@impulse.net or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA, 93438.
December 16, 2007
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