Revisiting Joy
Author: Katie Comiskey
December 22, 2021
By Katie Comiskey
The joy of Advent is often lost on me. As one
prone to melancholy, I dwell more on disappointment than victories. Somber devotion
suits me better than musing on the triumphant.
To be sure, sober meditation is necessary. How
else can we probe the depth of the Incarnation? Yet here is the fault-line for
me: I miss out on the joy of the season.
The Visitation invites me into the jubilance of
Advent. Mary hurries to the home of her older cousin, Elizabeth. (I love
the NIV translation of the Greek into “hurries”. Such a relatable image--how
many of us run to our dear friends and family after receiving life-changing
news!) Pregnant with John the Baptist, Elizabeth breaks out into
ebullient encouragement when Mary enters her home. “Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1:41). Harbinger of the
ultimate promise--temple of the God Child--Mary is heralded rightly. How
blessed is she who bears Christ within her!
Elizabeth is overcome with emotion: her joy is
full! “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my
womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44). Even the baby within her cannot be still in
the presence of her Lord and the one who bears him. It is a moment
of beautiful and spontaneous worship. Who, in the presence of the Lord, can
contain such exhilaration?
Elizabeth shows us how to respond rightly to
such a Savior. Much threatens our joy--suffering, impatience, and
disappointment. But the truth of His Incarnation, the steadfast and unshakable
truth that our Redeemer took on flesh to reconcile us to ours--can suffuse our
lives and make us people who worship Him joyfully in tough times.
Like Mary, we bear Christ within us. And when
our journey seems perilous, may we recognize the "Elizabeths" in our lives who
see the Christ in us a bit more clearly. And let us be Elizabeth to Christ-bearers
around us as we summon their joy, and the direction of their dignity as
image-bearers.
When I was considering leaving
seminary, I felt conflicted and defeated, unsure of where the Lord was calling
me and feeling the familiar sense that God had no clear plans for my life.
A dear friend spoke into my
confusion with words of life and freedom. She blessed my fruitful time in
seminary while confirming God’s call to return to Kansas City and pursue
teaching. In that moment, she saw the Lord’s call on my life and confirmed the
gift of who I was—both in my time at school and the blessing that lay ahead.
Reinvigorated, I blessed her, this amazing woman of God, strong and wise, who
had shepherded me through my time in Alabama.
In these last few days of Advent, let’s not
forget that God is born anew. Like John the Baptist, let’s leap for joy!
To us a Savior has been given! To us a Savior is born! May the Spirit
within us soar at the joy of Jesus’ arrival.
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