How does a Weary World Rejoice Week 1

How are you feeling today?

Thumbs up thumbs to the side, thumbs down

Description of an emotion wheel

here is a question for you, if you were to hold up an emotion wheel to all of humanity and ask them how are you feeling right now, and they had to only answer with one of these words, what do you think the primary feeling would be?

We are a weary people

How does a weary world rejoice?

We are weary from the.....

overwhelming tide of information that we received

the fatigue that can come with being caregivers for others

from work

from the burden of dealing with illnesses and injuries

from the challenge to balance our many vocations

from the repeated readings, tests, quizzes, and projects that accompany academia at any level

we are weary people

We are weary and hurting in each of our own ways

How should weary people approach the throne of God?

We enter into church for advent and Advent is one of the big liturgical times throughout the church year it is a season of anticipation as we often say. And we sing songs and light candles and have trees up, and sometimes it seems that there can be a disconnect.

Advent - How does a weary world rejoice?

This is the question - where is the good news that brings in weary people?

(God section/lesson)

Setting the scene - decades of weariness

God is silent for 400 years

The incense has been burned since the time of Aaron

Zechariah and Elizabeth

Zechariah priest

rare to get invited to the temple to offer incense

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

He and Elizabeth would have been called in from the countryside to do this

This is probably the single most important moment of his entire life

Zechariah and Elizabeth - their backstory

Elizabeth and Zechariah had all of the right credentials - and yet they were weary. The right credentials, the right actions, coming from the right family none of them allowed for them to secure the blessing that they were truly desiring.

Zechariah’s Prayer

This is speculation but maybe Zechariah didn't pray for a son while he was in there maybe he prayed for the redemption of Israel. What was the prayer of this weary person? What is your prayer, you weary people?

Perhaps he prayed not for a son but the redemption of Israel - that happened to include a son for him.

Deep joy is much different than fortune

There is a surface joy that Zechariah gets when he hears about getting a child - which in many ways is fortune

The real good news of the story the part where I have to imagine Zechariah’s jaw drops is not that he and Elizabeth will have a baby but what exactly it is that baby will do for the world.

A weary world rejoices - not by finding shallow joy or reprieve from momentary sufferings or personal longings

We hear first of the joy that this Child will offer to Zechariah and Elizabeth and then second that the way this child John will turn many people back to God.

Deep joy is bigger than just me

Deep joy is not just for us, deep joy is meant to be shared

Not only is it meant to be shared but it is meant to be shared connection with others

The good news that Zechariah is searching for is the "evangel" or gospel, good news this word first appears in the book of Luke here in our passage today in verse 19.

Luke 1:19 NRSV

19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

Luke 1:20 NRSV

20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

This is the plot twist that they didn’t see coming that Zechariah would not be able to speak about it

It wasn’t about his good news it was that there was an even greater news that was yet to come

Zechariah keeps our eyes pointed to the manger

Luke is

Salvation is the good news of Luke's Gospel and John is to be the herald of salvation

It is in the manger that deep joy is experienced

Is that a weary world rejoices because salvation is not just about overcoming our weariness it about the salvation and redemption of all people. The prayer we should be praying is not about our weariness it is about the world's weariness.

The good news that we long for in Advent is not about our emotions

It is about a God that enters into our story

The good news of advent is not just about us and our individual stories, it is about a grand story a story of deep joy and gladness, a story about Jesus, and those that came before Jesus, those that surrounded Jesus, and us who have come after Jesus.

Litany of confession

Leader:

Friends in today's scripture a man named Zechariah is given good news from God and his response is to ask, "How can this be?" Sometimes we feel this way. But friends, scripture tells us over and over again of a loving, generous and gracious God. Let us pray:

Gracious God we are weary. For weary bodies that ache and cry out, we pray:

ALL: Forgive us for pushing ourselves too hard. Remind us that we deserve Sabbath rest.

Leader:

For weary minds that feel overwhelmed and saturated with news we pray:

ALL: Forgive us for creating so many distractions. Remind us that in the quiet we can hear you.

Leader:

For weary hearts that long to feel the joy of this season, we pray:

ALL: Forgive us for being impatient with ourselves. Remind us that healing takes time, and that joy and grief can coexist.

Leader

For the weary edges of our faith that struggle to hold onto hope.

ALL: Forgive us. Remind us of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Remind us that your good news knows no bounds. In the name of Christ Jesus, we are forgiven. Amen.