ADVENT WEEK THREE: JOY
December 14 Rev. Jenny Wynn
Going Out in Joy
Isaiah 55:1-13
For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the
hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap
their hands. Isaiah 55:12
As I write this devotional on joy, news is breaking of another school shooting.
Two children died during Mass. How can I write about joy when I’m filled with
sadness and anger over senseless violence?
Isaiah’s words stare back at me: “For you shall go out in joy and be led back in
peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the
trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).
Where is this joy? This peace? How do we go out in joy when nowhere seems
safe, not even places where children worship?
Isaiah’s prophetic words offered comfort to the exiles, who had been waiting
and praying for something more, giving them perspective beyond the tyranny
and violence of their world. The prophet envisioned a different kind of empire,
a place of Shalom.
In Advent, we follow the same rhythm: we wait and long for peace. Isaiah 55
reminds us that our task is to come, listen, see, and seek God. We must break
from the death-dealing ways of the empire and engage prophetic imagination
that seeks to transform our current world.
Our waiting isn’t passive complacency but active engagement. We’re called
to work toward transformation. We go out in joy not because our world is per-
fect, but in anticipation of what it can become with God’s help.
Even amid tragedy, we hold onto hope. Our joy comes from trusting that God’s
kingdom of peace is both promised and possible.
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