Seeking Joy

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.    (NRSV)

Devotion

Every night at 8:00, I log into Facebook to watch my friend Megan and her husband Chris Livestream their daily Social Isolation Dance Party.  It is a goofy broadcast that includes strange costumes, eclectic music, shout-outs to friends across the nation, and some pretty "special" dance moves.  Megan doesn't do this because she's a great dancer.  She does it because dancing brings her joy.  If there's anything Megan can do to find and share joy during her time in quarantine, then she's willing to give it a try.

Megan's commitment to spreading joy during a pretty awful time reminds me a lot of Ecclesiastes 3.  There, the author (known as
Qoheleth) takes a break from talking about how futile life seems to be in order to muse that there is a time for everything..."a time to be born, and a time to die... a time to a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."  Qoheleth's words are powerful.  Yes, there are times to mourn and weep and lament.  Yes, there are times when we need to spend our energy on precautionary measures and problem solving.  But that's not all that life is.  Life is also about taking time to laugh and dance and rejoice.  It is those moments of basking in God's blessings that give us the hope and the strength we need when times get tough.  And it's when life is hard and everything seems futile that we most need to take a step back and seek out some joy.

This lesson was brought home to me last Thursday night, when I crashed onto my couch after another long day of wrapping my mind around what life in the Church will look like in the coming weeks.  It seemed as if each time church came up with a plan for one issue, a new one popped up.  Some of the most pressing concerns had been handled, but there was still so much left to do.  I felt drained and overwhelmed by all the thought of all the work that still lay ahead.  I got on Facebook to see what the latest news was from other states only to receive my very first notification about Megan's Social Isolation Dance Party.  The title piqued my curiosity enough to for me to click the link and see what on Earth my college buddy was up to.  For the next 15 minutes, I had the unexpected pleasure of laughing at the dance moves of a woman in a joke Christmas shirt and a man in a hotdog costume.  That brief moment of joy was enough to make me feel a lot better about life in general... so much so that by the next morning, I was ready to tackle a new set of quandaries.  I tuned in again on Friday night...and then on Saturday.  By Sunday, I was dancing along with them.  Megan's posts rarely rise to the top of my news feed, so I can't tell you why one did that night.  I suspect that it was the work of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, life is going to be strange for a while.  Adjusting to our new normal is difficult and emotionally taxing work.  There are plenty of hours in the day to do that work.  But we still need time to set all that aside and seek joy.  Why not work it into your daily schedule?  If coloring is your thing, then pull out the Crayons and markers.  If you get a kick out of corny jokes, learn a few new ones.  Bake a cake.  Watch a movie.  Throw a baseball.  Do something that brings you happiness.  And if you can find a safe way of doing so, share that happiness with others.  A little joy can make a world of difference.  

If you don't take my word on it, here's Rev. Stephen Fearing of Lexington, Kentucky's advice:

Tonight, I will twirl and boogie my way across my living room as I tune into another exciting episode of Megan's Social Isolation Dance Party.  Then, I'll sit down to a Little Debbie butterfly cake and a cup of the tea as I coo at my baby niece over the phone.  These are just a few of the things that bring me joy.  I trust that the Holy Spirit will help me use this brief time-out from sorrow and anxiety and problem-solving to recharge my spiritual batteries so I can keep doing what I can as a member of Christ's church.  May we all find time to take little sips of joy on our journey through the wilderness that surrounds us.  And those sips refresh our spirits for the road ahead.

Prayer

Lord of Laughter, help each of us find moments of joy in the midst of this time of anxiety.  May that joy make our own lives easier and help us connect with others, so that your goodness may be known in every place where there is sorrow.  May our spirits spin and twirl and dance in the light of your love.  Amen.