“Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!” (Zep. 3:14)
Today’s readings invite us ever more deeply into the contemplation of joy. The first reading from the prophet Zephaniah paints a picture of joyous exuberance at three things: joy in deliverance, joy in presence, and joy in the delight of the other. The first is the joy in being delivered from the judgement of God. The second is the joy in the presence of God among his people. The third is perhaps the hardest to image and enter into, it is God’s joy and delight at each one of us. “God will rejoice over you and renew you in his love.” What kind of joy is this that God has for us and can we accept this kind of joy and taste God’s joy for us?
In the Gospel reading we see the second of the joyful mysteries, the Visitation. In the Visitation, we see a joy of two women, each blessed by God with life, and each delighted to share this with each other. There is also the joy of baby John when he senses the Lord so close to him that he cannot stay still anymore. On the one hand we see in Elizabeth and John the kind of Joy this season invites us into as we draw close to meet our Lord – not just in a remembrance of Christmas but also in the Eucharist. It is a joy that bubbles up at the recognition of being close to the source of Joy itself. Jesus’ joy flows outward and causes in others such delight. It is a joy, that Pope Francis says, makes the soul ever young and youthful!
But on the other hand, this scene teaches us about the Joy that God has for us – the joy that the prophet in the first reading tells us about. This image of new life and the delight a mother has in her child’s life, and in the sharing of this life with others is a great image of the kind of Joy the prophet tells us God has for us. It is a joy that delights in, that desires to share, and it is a joy that when we are close there is a leaping for joy in anticipation of closeness. God has the same joy for us that John and Elizabeth had for him and Mary.
One of the best artistic representations of this Gospel episode is a modern work called “Jump for Joy” by Corby Eisbacher. This artist captures the feeling of joy between the two women, and the joy that caused John to leap in his mother’s womb. It is an image worth praying with today as we contemplate our joy for the Lord, and his joy for us.