Rejoicing and finding joy
Today’s Psalm always reminds me of a video of Stephen Colbert from years ago, when he was on Strangers With Candy with Amy Sedaris. It’s an outtake from the set, and Colbert performs a hilarious rendition of “King of Glory,” complete with ridiculous full-body dancing. By the end of this nineteen-second clip, Colbert is out of breath, and you can hear a few people off camera chuckling. It is delightful, joyous even.
It’s the third week of Advent, kicked off by Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete literally means “rejoice” in Latin, and this week we spend time with joy as we mark moving past the halfway point in our Advent waiting. It seems that even our pope fully embraces the many ways joy surprises us and shows up in our lives, especially as humor. Last June, Pope Francis welcomed an audience of over 100 comedians to the Vatican, including Colbert. And just this week, in an excerpt published in the New York Times from his new memoir, Francis reflects on faith and humor. Joy is a foundational element of authentic faith.
The work of Catholic Charities and other service ministries can feel so serious, and rightly so. People are dealing with grave situations that are often close to life and death, if not literally life and death. People facing systemic barriers aren’t joking about needing housing security, food security, a safe and nonviolent home life, access to healthcare, meaningful work, legal support to stay together as a family, healing from illness and addiction, and so much more.
In the Gospel reading we hear the story of Gabriel greeting young Mary with astounding news: she will conceive and bear a son, and she is to name him Jesus. While Mary is initially worried by the angel’s greeting — “she was greatly troubled at what was said” — we know what follows is the joy and excitement as she exclaims the Magnificat in the very next lines in Luke’s Gospel: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
There is space in Advent for joy and delight (and perhaps even humor!); is there also space in my life and work for these things?
Reflect with me. Let’s look back at our Advent so far. Recall the places you went, the people you spent time with, the media you consumed. Where did you experience joy and delight? What were you excited about? Who brought you humor? In what did you find delight? Where was God in these moments?
Let us pray for the humility and wisdom to experience joy in our own lives and to recognize the joy in God’s in-breaking, active love in the world. Where is the Spirit sparking joy? And, how can I be a part of that spark?
Kelly Hickman serves as the director of development for Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest and co-president of the Conference of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Edward Parish in Seattle, WA, where she lives.