Rejoice and Sing!

This Sunday the choir offered the Cantata titled "Rejoice and Sing!"  At first it seemed incongruous in light of recent events.  The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized the reality is that these things happen daily, not in the magnitude that we have seen this week, but loss and suffering happen every day.  We just don't hear about it, or see it.  When tragedies occur in this magnitude we band together as a community to ask, "Where was God?"

For the past couple of weeks we have been talking about where God is, how we need to slow down and look for God.  Open our eyes, minds and hearts to unconventional or unexpected appearances.  Take my experience this weekend.   All this weekend I felt the need to reach out to an acquaintance who recently lost a loved one under very difficult circumstances.  Because I don't know the person well it would probably be very awkward for me to actually contact them.  But still I went over and over and over all the things I would say about how I too lost a loved one. Although I am sure our situations are different, I really felt called to share how eventually the music that this person made caused me to smile and feel joy for the first time in a long time.  I wanted to wish them the same, reassure them that soon something would help them regain balance and the ability to see and feel the beauty, joy and love around them.  God was and is with them.

Little did I know that all that rehearsing was really for me.  It was preparation for the phone call I received Sunday night, telling me that my brother had died.  It was totally unexpected, totally senseless, completely heartbreaking.  And yet, all my ruminations had brought me to a place where, while I am profoundly sad and grieve the loss for all of our family, I accept and know that my brother is in the hands of God, and I really don't need to worry for him.  I don't think it was coincidence that I couldn't stop thinking of a way to comfort that acquaintance.

I was lucky this time and was able to pay attention to that feeling and be somewhat prepared.  I still wonder, along with countless other people, how do you make sense of the senseless?  How do you feel joy in the face of loss?  How do you embrace a season of hope when your heart is breaking?  How do you find God in the midst of unspeakable evil?  Where is God?   I could offer up my understanding, but I think it is better when we each figure that out for ourselves.  This week, I saw God in that feeling I couldn't dodge, compelling me to consider how I could comfort someone who had experienced sudden, profound loss.  Maybe God is in me, God is in you, in each one of us, reflected in how we treat others and how we respond to the bad things that will happen to us.

Our knuckles are probably a little whiter than usual as we cling more tightly to the promises of advent - hope, peace, joy and love.  Paul articulates it pretty well in Philippians 4:4-9:

Final Exhortations
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Rejoice and Sing.  The God of peace will be with you.