Joy in an Age of Rage Bait

It’s no wonder joy is so hard to come by.  And yet this Third Sunday of Advent asks us to weave our way through the all the rage and stifling hostility and focus on joy.

The lectionary passages for this third week of Advent offer a steady drumbeat of joy. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the wilderness and dry places blossoming like the crocus, shouting with joy. Mary sings her soaring Magnificat, her spirit rejoicing in God her Savior. The Psalmist declares that those whose hope and help is in God will be happy. Joy, joy, everywhere!

But none of this is trite or easy joy. In every instance, the joy of which the scriptures speak is interwoven with a clear acknowledgement of all that threatens to extinguish it.  Isaiah’s invocation of joy depends on the weak being strengthened and new life bursting forth in even the most parched places. Mary’s song is premised on an overturning of oppressive powers and systems and a lifting up of the lowly. The Psalmist urges trust in a God who brings to ruin the ways of the wicked while executing justice for the oppressed.  There is no pie-in-the-sky joy among these sacred testimonies, but a joy firmly rooted in a trust of who God ultimately is, a God who does not abandon the most burdened among us nor countenance the cruelty of the powerful.

Sometimes joy seems misplaced or impossible in a world where “rage bait” wins the day. I feel joy threaten to slip from my heart daily when I look upon the conflicts that persist around the world, the utter horror of ICE raids, mass shootings, and bitter divides in this country, and the struggle of so many to feel anything like lightness and peace in these hard days.

But the presence of joy doesn’t require the absence of all harm and struggle. It sees the world’s aches with clarity and nonetheless chooses to grab hold of God’s goodness and possibility. As Frederick Buechner once wrote:   “Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes.”

Joy with tears in its eyes. Perhaps in these days that is the best way of saying it. Joy despite everything. Joy in an age of rage bait. Joy: still.

The Reverend Shari Prestemon began her service with the national ministries of the United Church of Christ in January 2024. As the Acting Associate General Minister & Co-Executive for Global Ministries she has the privilege of supporting several teams: Global Ministries, Global H.O.P.E., Public Policy & Advocacy Team (Washington, D.C.), our staff liaison at the United Nations, and our Gender & Sexuality Justice Team. She previously served as a local church pastor in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Executive Director at Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the Minnesota Conference Minister. Her call to ministry grew, in part, from early Global Ministries experiences, especially service as a Peace & Justice Intern in Dumaguete City, the Philippines.