Co-Creating With God — Luke 1:46–55 and Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11
By: Emily Carle
Tags: God, Christainity, Mother Mary, Jesus, Advent

Originally preached on 12/13/20, third Sunday of Advent at Center Church, UCC in South Hadley, MA

So, when I was tapped to preach during a year as wild as 2020 for Joy Sunday, I was like “really Lori?? C’mon!” If there is one sentiment I have received from people during 2020, it’s that this year stinks! Of course, all of these bad things keep happening because 2020! And this has made me realize that somewhere along the timeline of our lives, we have learned to seek out joy in outside items. We have placed our joy in money, in decor, in homes, in cars, in clothing, in trips to Disney World — need I say more? We have taught ourselves that we will finally be happy when we have [insert your item here].

The problem with placing our joy in things, is that when we lose those things, we lose our source of joy.

The other problem with placing our joy in things is that these things cannot love us back the way we love them, and that creates a deeper pain within our psyche. So the natural problem that arises during a lockdown like what we have been in for most of 2020 is that we are now cut off from our sources of joy. Theologian Caroline Myss said on a podcast recently that: “during a year as bleak as 2020 when joy and gratitude are so elusive, it’s not a matter of saying ‘oh well there’s no joy here let’s just be miserable’ but rather it’s a signal to us that we need to reframe our definition and understanding of what it means to be joyful. If someone asks ‘how can I be joyful right now?’ the question is rather ‘why can’t you be?’”

In a year like 2020, we need joy more than ever, yet at some points during the year, it felt like we collectively shut it down. Joy is what sustains us. Joy is not happiness. Joy is internal. It is an inner contentment. It is constant. It is a state of mind and heart. It is a choice. Joy is what we need most in a year like 2020. It will be what gives us the hope for a brighter and better tomorrow. It is the knowledge that God is still love. God is ours forever. God weathers with us through the storm and always remains faithful.

We get a great imagery of joy through Mary, Mother of Jesus in Luke chapter 1. She exclaims “blessed be God for he has done great things for me.” What was the great thing that God did? Well obviously, God picked Mary to birth Jesus. But why is that important? Well, it all depends on who Mary is. And who is Mary? She is a poor, teenage, woman. She is not rich, nor does she hold power or esteem. She isn’t even married! Yet God chose her to carry Jesus. Mary is an important metaphor, or rather, a microcosm of how God wants us to create the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. By choosing lowly Mary to be the bearer of God into the world, it demonstrates that God wants all to be part of the creation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth — the humble, the poor, the oppressed, the servant, not only should, but must, be part of the creation. We are all Mary, collectively giving birth to a New Creation. We are co-creating with not only each other, but with God. All of us are needed, no matter our status. And isn’t that so freeing that our proximity to power or wealth or status doesn’t matter to God?

So where does all this justice talk fit in? Mary talks about “God scattering the proud, bringing down rulers, lifting the humble, filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich away empty.” Isaiah says similar ideas: “the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, release darkness for the prisoners, comfort all who mourn.” Where does that fit in? Why is there all this justice talk on Joy Sunday? It’s not Justice Sunday!

Now, I have not been to seminary yet, but I have two theories. One is our spiritual imagination. I mentioned before that joy is a constant refuge from the torments of the external world where we access the peace and hope and goodness of internal contentment. It is what we need to sustain ourselves in difficult times. Using our spirituality to access God’s love and to imagine a world that Mary and Isaiah describe where there is justice and a source of joy. For me, I am joyfully sustained knowing that the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice, and one day we will achieve the Kingdom of God that Jesus described, and Mary and Isaiah gave us a little taste of.

My other theory is that working towards these actions that Mary and Isaiah laid out, is the only way to create the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. Just a few minutes ago we prayed “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.” This is not a radical or new idea — I’m literally taking it from Jesus. The joy part comes in knowing that we have a marvelous God who loves us, holds us, and cares for us, and beckons us constantly to create with the Divine. How amazing is it that the Creator of the universe, who turned water to wine and fed 4000 people from just a few loaves of bread calls you – yes you — to work alongside everyone for the creation of a Beloved Community? Since joy is an orientation of the heart, let us orient ourselves towards these visions. Imagine the joy we will feel once we have created the Kingdom of God, with God, and with love.

So, to recap: joy comes from imagining the Kingdom of Heaven, but more importantly, joy comes from creating the Kingdom of Heaven, but most importantly, joy comes from the fact that we are doing both of these things with love and support from God who is always with us and will never

forsake us. We have that power to access. God is as close as your next breath.

My challenge for all of you is to imagine yourselves as Mary. There is a sparkle of something good within you — something that brings hope, peace, love, and joy. That sparkle is the Trinity. It’s the divine within you. We all have it, and we can all reach deep within the depths of our hearts to access it. When the world is falling down among us, put your hand on your heart, and cry out joy like Mary, knowing that you are loved and chosen by the Creator to do amazing things, and you do not have to do it alone; you have everyone beside you, and you have God within you and around you. Joy comes from above and within.

Amen.