Hope : Joy and Love
Romans 12:9-12, Colossians 1:3-8, Luke 2:19
‘They were coming for him and his people. Friends were being killed or fleeing for their lives. So Andrew White did what he always does when faced with an enemy. “I invited the leaders of Isis [Islamic State] for dinner. I am a great believer in that. I have asked some of the worst people ever to eat with me.”’
Rev Andrew White, The Vicar of Baghdad
Visiting Time
I remember when Noah was born and it came to the moment we took him home. I think I drove at 5mph and kept a good 10 second gap between my car and the next. Visitors were allowed after the first couple of days and always by appointment.
When Mary, having just given birth to Jesus, received her first visitors they were probably the last group of people she wanted to see. Shepherds. These were the bottom rung of society, outcasts, thieves and sometimes worse. If you were Mary or Joseph staying in a strange place would you want these people to be the first to come and see your child? Yet after they leave we are told that Mary pondered the things she had seen in her heart. She takes this rollercoaster ride she is on with joy, love, boldness and endurance, through all of Jesus’ life, his horrific death and world changing resurrection.
Joy to the World
What steals your joy?
It is easy for us to allow worries and insecurities about what will happen tomorrow or next week or in a year’s time to rob us of our enjoyment of the present. Hope in God helps us to let go of those things and allows us to rest and enjoy this moment, right here and right now.
Maybe Mary’s relaxed nature about these first visitors was because she had a hope in who this was she held in her arms and what he would do. This hope allowed her to experience the joy of the situation, to take it all in, and reflect upon the adventure she was on.
Saints and Sinners
It will soon be time for that bumper edition of the Radio Times to arrive and the festive tradition of circling the films you intend to watch to begin. One of the major themes in most festive films is that of love. From the tale of transformation of the unloveable Scrooge or other more modern tales like Home Alone there is a message about how we treat those around us and what and who we love.
In the letter to Rome, Paul tells them to let their love be genuine and later on he tells them to practice the love of strangers (this is a better translation than just hospitality). In Colossians he encourages them because of their love for all the saints because of the hope they have.
Hope breeds a sense of security in a bigger picture in which the God of love is present. This security helps to break down the barriers and suspicion we have of the stranger, of people who are different and even our enemies. So when Mary receives the outcasts of society she welcomes them in. When Paul encourages the church in Rome he tells them to love even the stranger despite the persecution they faced. Hope gives us deep roots, it allows us to be nurtured by the life-giving grace of God and so bear fruit like joy and love.
Questions
- What steals your joy? What robs you of your ability to enjoy the present moment?
- When you read the stories of Mary what characteristics do you see in her?
- Do you find that fear and despair make you less loving and joyful?
- When you have hope do you find it easier to love others and find joy in the world?
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