Third Sunday of Advent – The Sunday of Joy

Message: “Whose Joy?”

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy. When we hear the word “joy,” many of us think of a feeling: being cheerful, smiling, feeling good, having things go our way. Especially this time of year, joy can feel like something we are supposed to perform. But the joy the Bible speaks about is deeper than that.

Advent joy is not pretending that everything is fine, and it is not ignoring pain or suffering. Advent joy is something that begins in God, comes to us, moves through us into the world, and then, in a quiet and holy way, returns to God again.

Joy is not just a mood or an emotion. Joy is a movement. Joy is a relationship. Joy is a living circle of love.

Our readings today help us see that circle clearly. Isaiah speaks of a desert that blooms. The psalm sings of people being lifted up. James speaks to a tired church and says, “Be patient. The Lord is near.” And the Gospel shows us John the Baptist in prison, discouraged and confused, asking, “Jesus, are you really the One?” Before we walk through those texts, let me begin with an image most of us understand.

Joy Between a Parent and a Child

If you have ever watched a parent and a small child together, you know how joy works. The parent looks at the child and smiles, the child sees the smile and smiles back, the child laughs, and suddenly the parent’s whole face lights up. The parent’s delight becomes the child’s delight, and the child’s delight becomes the parent’s delight again.

No one explains this and no one teaches it. It simply happens because it is the nature of love. The child does not earn that smile and does not deserve that delight. The delight comes first.

Scripture often speaks of God this way, as a loving parent who carries us, comforts us, and delights in us. And in that relationship, something very important is true:

God’s joy comes first.

God delights in us before we do anything right, before we prove anything, before we fix anything. That is grace, and joy is what grace feels like when we receive it.

I have learned this most clearly not from books but from watching my own children. Even when they are tired or not at their best, my love and delight do not disappear. Sometimes I feel joy simply because they exist. That is a small glimpse of how God looks at us, and that is the heart of Advent joy.

1. God’s Joy Comes First (Isaiah 35)

Joy always begins with God, not with us.

Isaiah is speaking to people in exile: people who are tired, people who feel forgotten, people who are far from home. They are not joyful people, and Isaiah does not tell them to cheer up, try harder, or change their attitude. Instead, he paints a picture:

The desert will bloom. The dry land will rejoice. Weak hands will be strengthened. Shaky knees will be made firm. The blind will see. The lame will leap. Those who could not speak will sing. And the people will come home with everlasting joy on their heads.

This is not wishful thinking or denial. This is joy because God has come near. Joy begins when God moves toward broken places and refuses to leave creation wounded. Joy begins in God’s own delight in restoring what is broken.

There are seasons in life when we feel like we are in a desert: dry, empty, and tired. I have had seasons like that myself. What Isaiah reminds us is that joy does not begin when the desert disappears but when God enters the desert with us.

Like a parent leaning toward a hurting child, God leans toward a wounded world. And there is joy, not because suffering is ignored, but because love has chosen to come close.

2. God’s Joy Becomes Our Joy (Psalm 146)

The psalm tells us what happens when God’s joy reaches us: “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob.”

Why are they happy? Because of who God is.

God keeps faith forever, gives justice to the oppressed, feeds the hungry, frees the prisoner, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down, and cares for the stranger, the widow, and the orphan.

This is not abstract theology. It is a description of God’s heart and what God loves to do. When we truly see this, joy rises in us: not excitement or denial, but deep, steady joy.

Like a child resting in a parent’s arms, we find joy simply in knowing that this God is our God. Our joy is not something we create but something we receive. It is grace felt in the body.

There are days when my joy is quiet rather than loud, steady rather than emotional, and that kind of joy is strong and lasting.

3. Our Joy Becomes the World’s Joy (James 5)

But joy never stops with us. It was never meant to.

James writes to a tired church, a waiting church, a church longing for justice and change. He does not promise quick solutions. Instead, he says:

“Be patient. Strengthen your hearts. The Lord is near.”

This is not passive waiting. This is waiting held together by hope, waiting that trusts God is already at work even when the work is not finished.

When joy takes root in us, it begins to show. Joy looks like:

• Patience in an anxious world

• Kindness in a harsh world

• Courage in a fearful world

• People who refuse to give up on one another

When God’s joy fills us, we become signs of hope, and our joy becomes the world’s joy.

4. The World’s Joy Returns to God (Matthew 11)

Then we come to John the Baptist.

John is no longer in the wilderness but in prison. He is no longer preaching with confidence but asking a question:

“Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for another?”

This is not failure. This is honest faith. John is living in the tension of Advent, the space between promise and fulfillment.

Jesus does not scold or shame him. He says, “Go and tell John what you see.” The blind see. The lame walk. The poor hear good news.

In other words, joy is breaking into the world even if it is not finished yet.

And when healing happens, when dignity is restored, when the forgotten are lifted up, God rejoices. Like a parent watching a child come alive, God delights in the healing of the world.

This is the final movement of joy: God’s joy comes to us, our joy flows into the world, the world is renewed, and that renewal becomes joy for God again.

The Circle of Joy

Joy moves in a circle.

It does not begin with us. It does not start with our mood, our success, or our circumstances. Joy begins in God’s own heart.

Before the world was healed, before prayers were answered, before lives were changed, there was already joy in God: the joy of creating, the joy of loving, the joy of refusing to give up on the world God made.

That joy moves outward. It comes to us not as a reward, but as grace. Grace means we did not earn it, we did not deserve it, and we did not climb up to it. Joy comes to us because God delights in coming near.

This is why joy is not shallow happiness and not denial of pain. It is the deep assurance that God has chosen to be for us and to be with us, even in weakness, even in waiting, even in suffering.

When that joy reaches us, it does not stop. It begins to move again. It flows through us as love: not perfect love, not heroic love, but real love. Joy becomes patience when we are tempted to give up, kindness when the world is harsh, courage when fear would silence us, and solidarity with those who suffer.

As that love moves outward, it touches the world as healing: healing of bodies, healing of relationships, healing of memories, healing of communities that have been broken for a long time. This is how the Bible speaks of joy: not as a private feeling but as a sign that God’s future is breaking into the present.

When the blind see, when the poor hear good news, when those who are bowed down are lifted up, joy appears.

And then the circle closes. As lives are restored, as hope takes root, as creation breathes again, that healing becomes joy for God. Like a parent watching a child come alive, God delights in the flourishing of the world. Our joy becomes praise: not because everything is perfect, but because God’s love is at work.

This is why joy is not something we climb toward. It is not a spiritual achievement or the result of strong faith or positive thinking. Joy is something God sends toward us.

We do not stand outside of it. We live inside it: inside this holy movement of grace, love, healing, and praise, inside the life of God that is always moving toward the world.

Conclusion

So what does this mean for us today?

1. Receive joy. You do not have to create it or pretend. Let God delight in you.

2. Let joy strengthen you, especially if you are tired or waiting.

3. Share joy in small and faithful ways: a kind word, a listening ear, a small act of justice, a refusal to give up on love.

4. Live in a way that returns joy to God: a life of compassion, justice, and love.

Everyone, this is the good news of Advent joy: joy begins with God, joy is given to us, joy flows into the world, and joy returns to God. We live inside this holy circle.

May the God of joy meet you where you are, may Christ’s joy come close to you, may the Spirit’s joy move through you, and may your life bring joy to the heart of God.

Amen.