The 3rd Sunday of Advent:
Scriptures: Psalm 146:5-10; Matthew 11:2-11
Key Verse: “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” (Matthew 11:4)
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Hello, This is Jade.
Welcome to Yi.kigai
A space for all to explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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We are halfway to the long-awaited Christmas in Advent. Advent blessings to you and your family. Similar to the season of Lent, in Advent, we use purple or blue to remind the people of faith that it is a season of repentance. Instead of lighting a blue or purple candle, on the third Advent Sunday, we light the pink rose-colored candle on the wreath to begin the worship that recenters ourselves for the rest of the week. The pink rose color symbolizes joy. And that joy will refresh the way we see everything in our surroundings and the people we engage with or any strangers that we walk by. It is like clicking the reload button on the website page that you have been browsing so that the information you are seeing is the most updated.
What brings you joy? What is your long-awaited joy in life? As I look back on my life, the way I see joy keeps changing. There was a time when I couldn’t see any joy and had to hide or control my sadness after losing our son. I still remember the day when I left the hospital with a bag of baby clothing and diapers. Other families left the hospital with their babies, but not me. There wasn’t a baby in my arms but a big painful C-section incision on my belly. My sadness was triggered by everything that had to do with babies. I was angry at myself. I was even envious of others who had babies. Then I grieved and grieved. I couldn’t even think of getting better one day. It seemed to me that feeling sorrow was the right thing to do and crying made me feel better. It lasted for more than a year.
One day, I heard a loud crash at an intersection close to where I was working, and then I heard a boy crying. A motorcycle was hit by a taxi. From far away, I saw a boy and a woman on the ground. The taxi driver did get out of the car to examine the situation but said nothing and left in a hurry. Seeing that the woman was struggling to get up with one leg under the motorcycle, I ran to help lift their motorcycle off the ground. “Don’t be afraid! Mom is here,” she said. One of her arms was injured. She wanted to hold her boy but couldn’t. So, I held the boy for her and comforted them. The moment I made eye contact with her and heard her say, “Thank you,” I got my long-awaited joy that I had never expected to happen.
After that incident, I was no longer angry at myself or envious of others who had babies. I finally walked out of my own lonely and desolate world. That was my long-awaited joy, and still is. Whenever I see or hear good news of a new birth, the joy of the family completes my joy. And I am grateful for the words from St. Paul in Philippians 2:2 that constantly refresh my way of seeing joy. St. Paul said that his joy was complete by knowing that the church in Philippi was knitted together in spirit with the same mind and love toward one another, living a life that reflects their faith, and spreading the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ
Was the joy of John the Baptist complete by hearing what Jesus had done? Instead of getting the straight answer to his question of who Jesus was or if Jesus was the one who everyone had been waiting for, John the Baptist heard that the blind received their sight, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor had good news brought to them. Many received their long-awaited joy. The Good News completes the joy of John the Baptist. The same Good News completes the joy of St. Paul, the joy of ours, and the joy of all believers. That is the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ that we proclaim.
Who doesn’t like good news? We often find that good news to us might not be good news to others and vice versa. Sometimes, good news might not appear as good as its surrounding conditions haven't ripened yet to be seen, just like my own story. It is like driving a loaned car and living in a mortgaged home, the long-awaited joy is when the debts are paid off. For the people of faith, our long-awaited joy goes beyond our own possessions and feelings in our own individual life. We, the debtors, cannot pay for all the sins that we have made and haven’t made against God, others, and ourselves, but Jesus has paid off our debts already through his cross. That was our long-awaited joy. It still is today and will always be. And in our long-awaited joy, we find Jesus as his prayer said in John 15:11-13 that his joy may be in all his believers and may be complete when they love one another.
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May your coming week be blessed by God’s grace
As together we explore the intersection between faith and daily life
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