Uncovering Joy: Tales of Everyday Urban Spirituality (1 of 25)

Every Wednesday as part of TRRR, there will be a post from a collection of reflections from everyday life - a spirituality for those who - simply look around - smell what is in the air - stay within the bounds of the day - get knocked over by the obvious - fall apart and crumble - and find that in each day no matter where we might be - the Reign of God is at hand. 

Uncovering Joy –  tales of everyday urban spirituality

An Introduction 

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, „Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.‟ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, „Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those who he favors.‟ (Luke 2:8-14) 

In all that you will read throughout these pages, I hope you see that I write from what is quite concrete and simple: joy. There are many ways of speaking of joy. For example: I find myself in the midst of joy with the simple movement of my foot from under the covers of our bed - cool air - a moment of refreshment – simple - full. It is much like our cat, Francis, who brings the day to a close for me as he climbs on top of me, makes sure I am aware of his presence, and then he lies on my upper thighs and pelvis and settles in. It is a simple time. Often, it is a reminder of the fullness of the day that has past and the simple gift of having a place to rest for the night. It is the smile that breaks across my heart – a smile no one can see and yet one that sustains me. 

If joy is something that must be sought out or something one must pursue, then I am not one who can speak of it. Whenever I attempt to take part in something “joyous” or recreate a moment of joy, I am quite aware that my many attempts fall short of that which I may have anticipated. Rather, joy comes like a breeze - a fullness - a sense of wholeness - a moment in time that is not controlled by the uncontrollable movement of time as I try to create it. Joy is as fresh as an announcement of well-being that comes within the simple presence of one whose love is completely available. 

Joy is laughter that breaks out like an unexpected wind. It takes our breath away and it returns with fresh air that fills us beyond our expectations. Such laughter needs no explanation and it does not matter what brings it upon us. Sometimes it is a part of a fleeting memory finding a connection in the moment at hand. We cannot fully explain the laughter - the joy - because it roars out of the belly of our history. Though we can share the outward sign of that joy, it is more - much more. Such joy cannot be contained by our attempts to put it all into words. 

Having a sense of worth without having to state the reason for being worth anything at all is joy. Joy does not wait for acclamation or ovations or recognition or accomplishments or judgments. Therefore, it is always a surprise to hear when people are filled with joy. For in those stories, all outside perceptions fail us. That which appears to be a situation through which we think we could not see ourselves living without being destroyed or broken - may be a situation that fills another person with joy. The fears and anxieties that we bring into our lives need not be seen as the same stuff going on in the lives of others. That which is fear-filled for me, may leave another person feeling vibrant and fully alive. Joyfulness may mean that we leave our judgments at the door and welcome what we do not know or what we think we should be able to control. 

We find out about joy as we become available to others. We begin to see the expansive meaning of joy as we enter into moments of vulnerability that serve to bring the various elements of joy to blossom. Who would ever think that the joy of your life might be nothing like the joy that fills me? And yet, beyond our self-imposed limits and controls, there is joy we have yet to touch and hold - a joy we have not let move us into new life. 

Joy breaks out when we are alerted to the fact that there is reason to hope - there is reason to stand up - there is reason to expect more - there is reason to leave time and place in order to observe and be present within that which is not yet. Out in the hill country around Bethlehem the gospel writer Luke tells the story of the shepherds who were out with their flocks by night. When the great glory of the Lord burst into their lives, the most reasonable reaction is for them to want to run for their lives or take up arms. But the angel of God takes what appears to be threatening and beyond the understanding of those shepherds and the angel reframes the event. “Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” 

Outside of the everyday experiences of these shepherds was a reality that was being born into the world. This world was the one in which they lived. It is also a reality that was being dressed in promise. It was a reality that promised to leave no one behind. In their living-in-the-fields-lives that meant they were unclean and could not be a part of the parties in town, these shepherds were informed that joy – the time when all people will be embraced and beloved and made whole – was at hand. Messiah was no mere name in this storytelling. Messiah is a reality that takes up all people into its life. This is good news that begins to heal and care and set free and forgive and liberate and rescue and make the least and lowest and left out fully included – it is sheer joy. 

Joy can be defined as rapture. I like to mix those two words within one context. This is especially the case when so many churches use the word rapture to speak of a day when the followers of Jesus will be “taken away” from this world that is -as they like to say- “so evil and corrupt.” The story on the hills around Bethlehem is all about rapture – joy – filling all that is here and now with new life. Jesus born to Mary becomes a joy-filled life that finds its expression in the most down-to-earth experiences of our humanity - birth. If we are waiting for joy to come to us somewhere down the road - if we are anticipating a day when this world will be something left behind, then we are leaving behind the good news that is already building a home of joy in the presence of our God – as our God is revealed as “God With Us.” I would want to lean in here and note that ‘our God’ does not merely mean ‘my God.’ It is the whole character of the peaceable Reign that I have found through the Judeo-Christian story - but I have seen the joy of such a Reign in, with, and under the lives of those who know not the story I know. It is still a joy being uncovered by all of us. 

Uncovering joy is part of the experience of living within the moment at hand. It is the exercise of looking again at what is so common. Joy does not have to be something more that must be added to our lives. Joy does not have to be something more that we are told to find in another place and time. Joy can be something that is already at hand. What if the core of our spiritual development had to do with knowing that the fullness of God’s Reign is here - here as I am writing and the coffee is brewing and conversations are being held at the tables around me - here where a child is perched on top of his father‟s shoulders and is getting a view of all the stuff that goes on behind the counter that is usually blocked from his view? 

Uncovering joy is the reality behind what I have come to call urban spirituality. The joy is here - waiting to be witnessed - waiting to bring new life - waiting to be uncovered for it is already here among us. Joy is like the baby Jesus in Bethlehem in the middle of the ordinary and overlooked lives of peasants who are vitally concerned about simply getting through the day. And yet, the Reign of God is being brought to life – right down the street – down in the town – waiting for the joy of the moment to change all that will be. 

TRRR