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At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.” –Luke 1v39-49
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.” –Luke 1v39-49
REFLECTION
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The beloved fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien invented the word eucatastrophe to describe the stunning, unexpected turn of good fortune that rescues Frodo, Sam, and all of Middle-earth at the climax of The Lord of the Rings.
For Tolkien, this “sudden, joyous turn” wasn’t an escapist literary device or a denial of sorrow or failure. It reflected what he saw as an underlying reality woven into the universe: when all seems lost, an inbreaking grace flips the script and causes, as he put it, “a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears.”
In the first century, a teenage girl from an overlooked town was approached by a terrifying, luminous being with an announcement: she is favored by God and will give birth to a son — Jesus, the Savior. Despite the very real sorrow and pain ahead, Mary knows her story has taken a sudden, joyous turn, and she breaks out into song.
Have you ever experienced this joyous turn? A watershed moment when you knew your future was radically altered for the good?
When we participate in his redemptive work, we invite into the present that endlessly joyful future that awaits us.
Maybe it was an acceptance letter from an elite school. Or landing the part in an audition. Or beginning a new friendship or romance. Or getting a positive pregnancy result after years of trying.
Have you felt this same joy in connection with the arrival of Jesus?
When Jesus was born, we read in Luke 2v19 that Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” We can follow her lead. We can take time to treasure and to ponder the gift God has given us. And we’ll likely need a plan for it, because our bodies tend to resist treasuring what’s good.
According to psychologist Rick Hanson, our brain’s alarm system, the amygdala, is wired so that the majority of its neurons are focused on negative information — threats, bad news, danger — rather than on positive experiences. This tendency means that painful experiences take just a few seconds to lodge in our brains, but good experiences take 12 seconds — four times as long — to form in our consciousness and move to our long-term memory.
In discussing this phenomenon, the pastor Ken Shigematsu shares how a friend launched a Sabbath tradition to combat this negative bias: each member of the family takes 14 seconds (two extra seconds for good measure) to imagine a good gift from God in the previous week, and simply ponders it, letting it sink in and breed joy.
In this busy time of year, we must tell ourselves to take time to ponder and to savor the good gifts of God, including the gift of a Savior who reconciles us and who will one day return for us.
But we can do more than ponder. We can embrace joy by regularly placing ourselves in God’s hands as instruments of redemption, through the practice of service. Seeing God show up and work through us brings unique joy.
Have you experienced this? When we participate in his redemptive work — whether it’s caring for children, a quiet conversation, or offering hospitality to a stranger — we invite into the present that endlessly joyful future that awaits us. This joy is assured because both the incarnation and the crucifixion of Jesus mark sudden, joyous turns; as Tolkien wrote, “this story begins and ends in joy.”
As we ponder his goodness and step into his redemptive story this season, may we experience a lifting of the heart into “an inexpressible and glorious joy
Read the text or play the audio recording below it
The beloved fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien invented the word eucatastrophe to describe the stunning, unexpected turn of good fortune that rescues Frodo, Sam, and all of Middle-earth at the climax of The Lord of the Rings.
For Tolkien, this “sudden, joyous turn” wasn’t an escapist literary device or a denial of sorrow or failure. It reflected what he saw as an underlying reality woven into the universe: when all seems lost, an inbreaking grace flips the script and causes, as he put it, “a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears.”
In the first century, a teenage girl from an overlooked town was approached by a terrifying, luminous being with an announcement: she is favored by God and will give birth to a son — Jesus, the Savior. Despite the very real sorrow and pain ahead, Mary knows her story has taken a sudden, joyous turn, and she breaks out into song.
Have you ever experienced this joyous turn? A watershed moment when you knew your future was radically altered for the good?
When we participate in his redemptive work, we invite into the present that endlessly joyful future that awaits us.
Maybe it was an acceptance letter from an elite school. Or landing the part in an audition. Or beginning a new friendship or romance. Or getting a positive pregnancy result after years of trying.
Have you felt this same joy in connection with the arrival of Jesus?
When Jesus was born, we read in Luke 2v19 that Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” We can follow her lead. We can take time to treasure and to ponder the gift God has given us. And we’ll likely need a plan for it, because our bodies tend to resist treasuring what’s good.
According to psychologist Rick Hanson, our brain’s alarm system, the amygdala, is wired so that the majority of its neurons are focused on negative information — threats, bad news, danger — rather than on positive experiences. This tendency means that painful experiences take just a few seconds to lodge in our brains, but good experiences take 12 seconds — four times as long — to form in our consciousness and move to our long-term memory.
In discussing this phenomenon, the pastor Ken Shigematsu shares how a friend launched a Sabbath tradition to combat this negative bias: each member of the family takes 14 seconds (two extra seconds for good measure) to imagine a good gift from God in the previous week, and simply ponders it, letting it sink in and breed joy.
In this busy time of year, we must tell ourselves to take time to ponder and to savor the good gifts of God, including the gift of a Savior who reconciles us and who will one day return for us.
But we can do more than ponder. We can embrace joy by regularly placing ourselves in God’s hands as instruments of redemption, through the practice of service. Seeing God show up and work through us brings unique joy.
Have you experienced this? When we participate in his redemptive work — whether it’s caring for children, a quiet conversation, or offering hospitality to a stranger — we invite into the present that endlessly joyful future that awaits us. This joy is assured because both the incarnation and the crucifixion of Jesus mark sudden, joyous turns; as Tolkien wrote, “this story begins and ends in joy.”
As we ponder his goodness and step into his redemptive story this season, may we experience a lifting of the heart into “an inexpressible and glorious joy
QUESTIONS:
Have you experienced a sudden, joyous turn? Did you savor the joy, or did it get stolen? What helps you savor joy, and what tends to steal it?
Are there ways you feel prompted to embrace joy in this season of your life, through meditation, acts of service, or in some other way?
Have you experienced a sudden, joyous turn? Did you savor the joy, or did it get stolen? What helps you savor joy, and what tends to steal it?
Are there ways you feel prompted to embrace joy in this season of your life, through meditation, acts of service, or in some other way?
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