joyjoyjoy

I hope it’s not just today, but I feel so much joy in my heart that it can only translate as a blog post.

Very briefly, I feel:

We have every reason to rejoice. Truly rejoice.

The reason I doubt and want it to be more than today is because I know, for sure, that joy cannot be partial, fleeting or temporary- or it’s not joy. I was surprised because the Bible lists at least THREE different speakers mentioning the idea of joy being ‘complete’: Jesus, St. John and St. Paul!

And check this out:

 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
   you have taken off my sackcloth
   and clothed me with joy, 

 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
   O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.

 So I’m imagining a big soft, possibly pink, I mean rose blanket descending from the heavens and covering my head to toe. J Which is great and fluffy and all, but it begs the question: how does joy manifest itself in us? I actually thought, up till maybe right now, that joy meant jumping around, hyperactivity and perhaps even an immovable smile on one’s face.

But if we look back to this verse, it says “so my soul may praise you and not be silent”. My soul. My inmost being. It’s more than my actions and words shouting for joy, which the Psalms encourage too, but it’s even deeper! How does one’s soul shout? Praise?

And how many of us have allowed ourselves to experience this joy?

I ask all these questions. And then I thought of holy people in my life. And then Mother Mary.

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord, 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

 Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.  (Luke 1:46-49)

We say that one of the characteristics of a Jesus Youth is that they are joyfully charismatic. Now that doesn’t just mean we love our action songs and jumping around when told to do so. (This took me a while to learn.) Roy actually shared this with me- Mother Mary is charismatic, joyfully charismatic. So infilled with the Holy Spirit, rejoicing in God. She even prophecies (a gift of the Spirit, yeah?)- all generations will call her blessed! And we do. J

So this joy is complete, it is interior and exterior, it is all-encompassing, it is silent, it is a shout. A pulse back to the One who gave us reason to rejoice in the first place. It begins with an infilling of the Holy Spirit and manifests in the bearing of fruit.

Such is joy.

Come soon Lord Jesus!