Dear Blooming Glen Friends,

The quiet truth about joy is that it never follows a straight line. In Luke’s account of the joyous birth of Jesus, the way of joy journeys from Zechariah’s silencing (Luke 1.5-25) to Mary’s questioning (Luke 1.26-38) to Elizabeth’s travel (Luke 1.39-45) to then to Mary’s magnificent song (Luke 1.46-56). Joy rarely, if ever, simply shows up unannounced. The journey of joy is a product of our experience of surprises, doubts, and new perspectives that point to and blend in with the thing God is doing in us, through us, and in spite of us. Joy is a maze of wonder.

Mary’s magnificent song contains lyrics of surprise. A poor teenager, betrothed into what was likely in an arranged marriage, has a keen theological insight. Joy will do that to us. Without joy, the Christian faith gets confused with just a lot of rules to be followed. Without joy, legalism is the end game.

What would it look like for Blooming Glen to be renowned as a joyful church? Would it be exuberant worship, with the strong back-beat of drums and loud chords of praise from guitar strings? Maybe. Maybe not. If we see joy in performance, we indulge in a great adventure in missing the point. If Luke 1 teaches us anything, it is that joy shows up in a myriad of ways. Joy can be silent or loud. Joy can be full of questioning doubt and faithful obedience. Joy can lead you to pack up the family conveyance and take an unplanned, unwise trip to hear the voice of God in a new place.

For the forebearers of Blooming Glen, joy was found in the regular decision to “… continue in the simple and non-resistant faith, looking for that blessed hope … Jesus Christ.” As we experience the grace of Jesus as revealed and proclaimed in scripture, as we encounter the stubborn love of God that equips us to stubbornly love one another through the practice of radical candor, and as we embrace the fellowship of the Holy Spirit by gladly serving our neighbors, near and far, we will find joy.

In this season of Advent, I wish for each of us the mystery of joy. A joy that transcends mere circumstance. A joy discovered through our mutual commitments to simple shared gospel values of biblical fidelity, love for one another, and service to the neighborhood.

May your journey of joy be rich this season. May your joy in this season not be amped up on a highly caffeinated consumerist approached to faith and life, but on the simple experience of God’s word, the simple willingness to love one another, and the simple acts of serving our neighbors.

Let the joy be our fresh experience of the blessed hope – Jesus Christ.

Be simply full of joy, sisters and brothers!

Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net

P.S - I’m at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, December 15, 3:30-4:45 pm to listen to whatever is on your mind. I’ll be at the A&N Diner on Monday, December 18, 7:30(ish)-8:45 am to listen to whatever is on your mind. I’ll be back at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, December 22, 3:30-4:45 pm to listen to whatever is on your mind.

Dear Blooming Glen Friends,

“ O come all ye faithless,
joyless and defeated.
O come ye, O come ye
To Bethlehem…”
From @MattSmethrust on X

The joy of Christmas is not an intrinsic reality. We are not glad of heart on our own merits. God’s joy does not land on our lives because we are deserving.

The Angel Gabriel makes a repeat performance in the sermon text this week. Having delt with Zechariah’s question (“How can I be sure this will happen? I am an old man …” – Luke 1:18), the angel speaks to Mary, a young woman who is betrothed into what is likely an arranged marriage, and deliver’s the news of her impending pregnancy. She is, like Zechariah, flummoxed with questions (“But how can this happen? I am a virgin …” – Luke 1:34).

In the case of Zechariah, Gabriel takes his capacity for speech away because he and Elizabeth, are being delivered from shame and Zechariah questions God’s ability to do that. In the case of Mary, an almost identical question is met with further, tender explanations. Where Zechariah was being delivered through God’s gift of John, Mary would be plunged into a world where shame, anxiety, worry, and fear could reign. Gabriel gives Mary words of comfort and hope as she begins a lifelong journey of mothering God among us.

God meets us where we are at in life. When we struggle with belief, God has sufficient faith for us both. When joy seems elusive, God offers us promise. When life seems to defeat us, God makes a way.

The Advent/Christmas/Epiphany season we are embarking on is meant precisely for the weary, the messed-up, the broken. When life is saturated with chronic pain and trials of crisis, God is present. When our life isn’t fit for social media posts, the birth of Jesus is the promise that God really, truly, and actually, saves. That’s where joy comes and seeks us out – not because we have God figured out, but because God holds us in His love.

Advent is a journey from the status quo and negotiated settlements of life as it is, to the surprising joy that lies in wait within God’s new work. In this season of Advent, may joy abound, because faithfulness reigns.

Thanks for being the (joyful) church,
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net

PS – Friday, December 8 is an opportunity for coffee and conversation at the Broad Street Grind, 3:30-4:45 pm. Sunday, December 10, I’ll be hanging out in the Welcome Center for coffee and conversation during the Sunday School Hour. Monday, December 11, I’ll be at the A&N Diner from 7:30 to 8:45 am for conversation over breakfast. Also – remember that the Nazareth Peace Walk is this Saturday, December 9. See a member of the Micah 6:8 Team for more details. AND, don’t forget that this Sunday, December 10, is a great opportunity to interact with the East Coast participants in Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program. These young adults from the Global South will participate in our worship service, share in our gathered second hour, and then be our guests at a church potluck. Come and participate in their journeys toward the new thing God is doing in their lives.