A sermon preached for the 3rd day of advent at Easton Church of the Brethren on 12/17/23
I’ve got to be honest - I’ve been having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year. This has been one of the busiest Christmas seasons I have ever had, between school, work, musical obligations and family events, and I am struggling to stay afloat. I barely had time to think about this sermon until about last week. I finally got a moment to sit down and reflect on what “joy” means in this season, and couldn’t help but feel like that was a distant notion, and wondering why I felt that way. It’s not that I’m unhappy - it’s more that I feel too exhausted to be joyful. I’ve heard the sermons before that joy is more than a fleeting emotion, but a state you find yourself in. I know this, but I am not sure how to spark that joy when I am feeling overwhelmed. Maybe this morning, you are finding yourself feeling the same way I am feeling - in need of a way to spark joy in this season.
As I reflected on this, I was reminded of a Netflix show I used to watch. On the surface, it was a simple home cleaning show, but this person’s methods were motivated by a deeper, more holistic spirituality. The show is called “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”. The show centers around the enticing personality of a small, Japanese woman, and her methods for helping people clean up their homes. While the spirituality that informs her methods come from Shinto - Japanese spirituality - I think that we can still learn from some of what she teaches about de-cluttering our homes and in turn - our lives.
Marie Kondo’s claim to fame is her catchphrase - “spark joy”. This is a question she constantly asks her clients as they try to minimize the clutter in their lives. She asks them to take every item in their hands, and determine if it sparks joy. If it does, they keep it and make space for it. If not, they sell, donate, or trash it. She has an interesting way of explaining how you know this feeling of “sparking joy” that I would like to share with you this morning.
This idea of prioritizing what sparks joy really resonated with me. But I have just one problem - A LOT of things spark joy for me. I get so excited about so many things, it is easy to over-commit, and all of the sudden the things that once brought joy now feel overwhelming. If you or anyone you know are big crafters, think about your craft room at home. Does crafting spark joy for you? Now, think about that, and think about the amount of craft supplies you have. Does it still spark joy, or does it now feel overwhelming because it is cluttered and disorganized. This goes for non-material things, too. I love music, but right now, I have spread myself too thin across several musical ensembles, and now music feels more like a burden than a joy. I’ve cluttered up my own joy.
Marie Kondo is a certified minimalist. In Japanese culture, minimalism is highly regarded, because they believe living with only the essentials brings the greatest joy. This seems very contradictory to our American culture, but this concept of minimalism revolves around making space for joy. When your home is tidy and organized, there is more room for friends and family. When your schedule has open days, there is more room for you to recharge and re-spark your own joy. It’s about removing distractions and stressors to be able to live fully in each moment of life.
This is something we see lived out in scripture as well. The Old Testament teaches us to live humbly. Jesus teaches us to take only bare essentials for the journey so we are not weighed down by excess. Paul teaches us to give our excess to the poor, and to live simply and peacefully with our neighbors. This is something we see in the story of Mary as well. We know she was a faithful young woman who was taught the scriptures and prophecies about the coming Messiah. She lived humbly, among the peasantry of the time - she lived simply. Because of this, she was in the perfect position to accept this radical calling from God. Her life was simple, and built around her faith in God. She made room for the joy of the Lord.
I think about my life right now and wonder if I have made enough room for the joy of the Lord in my life. If an angel came to me today and told me to drop everything and follow a radical commission of God - could I? To be honest - probably not. My response would likely be “But wait - I have a concert tomorrow, and a rehearsal Thursday, a paper due Friday, and a long list of things to do at work. I can’t follow you - I am too busy”. There’s another story in scripture about people who were too busy to heed God’s invitation, and they missed out on eternal joy offered by Jesus for the same reason - they were too busy. They hadn’t made space for joy.
So how do we make space for the spark of joy? For this, I turned to another famous figure for their perspective - an admittedly more American perspective. The famous writer of Star Wars - George Lucas - was asked to give a speech at the Academy of Achievement in 2013 explaining his road to success, and this was what he said about joy:
For Marie Kondo, what sparks joy is taking stock of everything in your life, and removing everything that hinders the spark of joy. For George Lucas, what sustains joy is compassion and selflessness. Once you’ve removed the distractions of joy, you have space in your life to live for others - to invite others into your space, to give your time, talents, and resources for the betterment of others. This is why Mary’s life was able to become the spark of ultimate joy, in bearing the Messiah and savior of the world, because she had made space for God to use her in this way.
Perhaps the greatest irony throughout human history is that those who have little seem to have great joy, and those who live in wealth and abundance feel anguish and emptiness. I remember seeing this during my time in Africa. On more than one occasion, I spoke with Africans who felt sorry for Americans. They said we are so busy and so sad, and wondered why we would want to live that way. In Africa, they live simply and communally, and they are deeply connected to creation and each other because of it. They take their time - they make space for joy. They are not concerned about rushing from one place to the other, or with how many material possessions they have, but with being present - connecting deeply and genuinely with each other, and providing for each other when someone may be lacking. While there are at times genuine struggles - when illness, war, and poverty strike - they have built a foundation of joy that transcends the physical situation they may find themselves in. Because of this, they have hope and joy, knowing that no matter what, God is good, He provides, and is the ultimate source of joy in all situations.
We see some of this in Mary’s Magnificat this morning. She references this “upside-down” kingdom, which speaks to the great irony of prosperity. “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” When we see the joy to be gained in simplicity, we can look at this prayer not as a curse on those who are powerful and wealthy, but as a blessing. In their pride, they have lost love. In their power, they have lost hope. In their riches, they have lost joy. Perhaps in this prayer for the great humbling of these people, this is a blessing - an opportunity to find greater joy outside of worldly prosperity, and find it in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - the ultimate source of love, hope, and joy. May we be so bold to pray this prayer for ourselves, too. It is in this, that we will find ultimate joy in the presence of God. So let us pray this prayer together:
“When I become too proud, scatter the thoughts of my heart. When I think myself powerful, take my throne and remind me who is on the ultimate throne. When I boast in riches, take them, and fill me only with goodness that comes from You. May the God of peace himself sanctify me entirely; and may my spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”