Our Advent Companion: Joy
Joy inhabits this third week of Advent, when we light the bright pink candle of joy. Traditionally called The Shepherd’s Candle for the joy-filled message to shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks by night, the candle adds unexpected beauty to the Advent wreath. The shepherds’ excited reactions were first full of awe quickly followed by energy and action. Perhaps only an unusual pink candle could portray such enveloping joy. Eschewing the traditional colors of purple and the modern Christmas colors of red and green, the wreath features a bright pink to express the overwhelming emotion of joy. Though I don’t recall many Nativity story illustrations bathed in pink, the choice of Pink for this candle does fill me with joy. My imagination opens up to images of the starry night other than the traditional ones, and thus the “stars” in the sky are the beautiful pink flowers astrantia, also called the Sparkling Star flower. How appropriate that the sky should be filled with sparkling pink stars! Angels are present appearing in the distance, about to announce their astounding news. The faint gray silhouette of a shepherd and his sheep completes the tableau.
Joy fills the sky. Sparkling, pink, glittering, bountiful flowers of joy. Like the shepherds of long ago, we cling to joy in the midst of hard times or ordinary ones. Like the shepherds, we witness joy in unexpected places and during inopportune times. When joy occurs, we need not explain it or justify it. We need not doubt or intellectualize the presence of joy. Like the shepherds, we stop. We behold. We listen. Joy floods our souls.
When I think of joy, music fills my mind: Angels We Have Heard on High, Joy to the World... and Joy to the World (Yes, that one (Thanks, Three Dog Night). I can hear groups of enthusiastic preschoolers singing.. err shouting… I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Down in My Heart in answer to the leaders call of Where? I think of joyful news and joyful noise. Joy is the shepherds’ wild rush to Bethlehem. Joy is the birth of a healthy baby. Joy is the wonder of star-like flowers that sparkle with beauty. Joy appears over and over and over again. We are so very thankful for it, despite every circumstance of bounty or of need, whether preoccupied with myriad tasks of this season, or tangled up in complex relationships, or hearing angelic-sounding choirs, or feeling fresh grief over persistent violence in our world. Like the stars in the sky, Joy does not cover up the darkness. It shines, it glitters. Centuries removed from that pink, flower-filled sky, Joy invites us to rush to our places of comfort…to share good news… and to celebrate with great joy.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Luke 2: 8-10.
I wonder…
How did the shepherds experience the appearance of joy into their busy lives?
I wonder…
How can Joy appear to us this Advent Season of 2024?
