We Long For: Unending Joy

Joy.

It’s an often-fleeting emotion.

But what is generally true of joy? When is our joy the most full?

Is it not when something we’ve been longing for becomes a reality?

Even the dictionary definition of joy confirms this to be true:

“The emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy

In science, there is a difference between potential energy and kinetic energy. A sled at the top of a snowy hill has a lot of potential energy, but until it is acted upon, the energy will remain merely that: potential. However, once it starts sliding down the hill, its potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy.

Joy is similar. Truly experiencing joy is like kinetic energy: it’s in motion and it’s active. Longing for the experience that results in joy—hope—is like potential energy: the possibility is there, but you can’t see it yet because it’s still waiting for an event to convert the hope into joy.

“Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.”

Luke 2:10–11, HCSB

The Angels announced joyful news to the shepherds, because what they were hoping for had finally arrived: Christ, the Lord, the Savior (link to previous blog).

As I wrote over the last two weeks, we are still longing for peace, we are still longing for the world to be restored. We hope for these longings to become reality, and they will one day result in joy unending. But for now, we wait. For now, we long for joy.

Christians typically reflect on Advent on the Sundays before Christmas. However, since this blog does not intend to compete with your weekly Christian fellowship at your own local church—but rather seeks to supplement it—I’ve decided to post these reflections on Tuesdays, with a final one on Wednesday, December 25.

Week 1: Hope – Genesis 1
Week 2: Peace – Exodus 3
Week 3: Joy – Psalm 130
Week 4: Love – Matthew 1
Christmas Day: Christ – Titus 2

Today, we want to talk about joy, but I think it will be better to talk about the potential for joy. So while this might seem like it more heavily emphasizes “hope,” joy is still the ultimate focus.

The shepherds were told that the birth of their Savior would be cause for joy. And this was because of a hopeful prayer prayed in the Old Testament. Psalm 130 says:

A Pilgrim Song
From the depths I call to you, Yahweh.
My lord, hear my voice,
May your ear be attentive to my voice of supplication.
If you counted sins, Yah,
My lord, who would be able to stand?
For with you is forgiveness, so that you may be feared.
I wait for Yahweh.
My soul waits.
And for his word I hope.
My soul waits for my lord—
One of the watchmen waits for morning, watchmen wait for morning—
Israel, hope in Yahweh.
For with Yahweh is exceeding lovingkindness, with him is redemption.
He will redeem Israel from all his sins.

Psalm 130, my translation

This psalm occurs within a collection of fifteen psalms that all share the same heading, commonly translated “A song of ascents” (Psalms 120–134). However, scholars are relatively agreed¹ that this collection was put together for pilgrims to sing while traveling to Jerusalem for various festivals. As such, this collection came together after the exile, regardless of who wrote the original psalms, or when.

Psalm 130 is primarily praise for God’s forgiveness in spite of our sin. This is beautiful. We could spend a lot of time on this psalm, but I want to direct our attention to two things: the emphasis on hope, and what specifically is hoped for. Both of these realities are critical for our understanding of Advent.

In verse 5, the psalmist declares that he is waiting on Yahweh. “Waiting” should be understood as a synonym of “hoping for.” There are three reasons for this. First, he is waiting for Yahweh and hoping for his word. Second, he tells Israel to hope in Yahweh in verse 7, while he himself “waits” for Yahweh in verse 5; the two ideas should be understood as parallel. Third, the Greek translation of this psalm (Psalm 129 in the LXX) changes the terminology of the metaphor in verse 6 from “waiting” to “hoping,” further demonstrating the similarity of the two ideas.

Look at the reason the psalmist gives for hoping in Yahweh: “For with Yahweh is exceeding lovingkindness, with him is redemption” (verse 7). Yahweh will redeem you. Hope in him! Wait for him!

It’s a beautiful prayer. And it becomes even more beautiful when we see verse 8. I think it is likely that verse 8 is itself the word he was hoping for. When it was revealed to him, he prayed it back to God: “Bring this to pass, O Lord!”

“He will redeem Israel from all his sins.”

It is worth noting that the psalmist doesn’t pray for redemption from distress. He doesn’t pray for redemption from illness. He doesn’t even pray for redemption from enemies, foreign rulers, or slavery. He prays for redemption from sin.

This might not strike us as odd, since we’ve become accustomed to the word “redemption” in the context of sin. But what might surprise us is that this verse is the only place in the Old Testament where redemption is said to occur because of sin.² Psalm 25:22 is comparable on this point, as it is almost identical, but it does not mention sin:

“God, redeem Israel from all its distresses.”

HCSB

Another text that mentions redemption in proximity to sin is Isaiah 44:22, where we read:

I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to Me,
for I have redeemed you.

HCSB

This verse could be argued as saying that redemption is from sin—taking the first and fourth lines to refer to the same action—but the context immediately turns to speaking about Cyrus who declared that the Jews could return from exile (Isaiah 44:24–45:7).³ Whether it speaks about redemption from sin or not, the fact remains that a lot more references to redemption in the Old Testament are related to escape from slavery in Egypt or the Babylonian exile than to redemption from sin.

We can talk all day about how the Old Testament emphasizes redemption from physical realities that are troubling, but the New Testament emphasizes sin as our primary problem. This is not to avoid the Old Testament’s emphasis on justice for all (see especially Isaiah 1:17 and Micah 6:8), but it is to point out that all injustices are ultimately a result of sin. To focus on the fruit without dealing with the root will only result in more of the same.

 The shepherds were promised joy because the hope of the nation had finally arrived. God would redeem Israel from their sins.

But Israel wanted a political savior. Israel wanted to be saved economically and politically. They didn’t want the internal heart problem (that sin that ultimately resulted in their subjugation by Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome) dealt with. So when their promised Savior started speaking about a kingdom “not of this world” (cf. John 18:36), they shouted for his death.

This Advent, let’s prevent our eyes from focusing on the political environment. Let’s not place too much hope (or despair) in the economy. Let’s focus on Jesus, who was promised in Psalm 130:8.

“He will redeem Israel from all his sins.”

This is what we are hoping for. This will result in joy. The realization that Jesus has redeemed us (to some extent) should cause us to rejoice even now!

There is more that the Advent season should inspire us to long for, and we will consider another  reality next week. But as you go throughout this week, consider the following:

• What were the circumstances surrounding the most joyful moment in your memory?
• Right now, what are you hoping for that you are certain will result in joy?
• What sins do you still need redemption from?

In this with you.

Thanks for reading.

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Notes and References

1. There are outliers for sure, as with any discussion, but in general many would agree with this summary. ↩︎
2. I. Howard Marshall and Philip H. Towner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, ICC (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 284; I created a spreadsheet that demonstrates this with all the data from the LXX and NT. Leave a comment requesting it, and I will link to it. ↩︎
3. Granted, the exile only happened because of sin, so it would be fair to say that freedom from exile would mean redemption from sin(‘s consequences). But the fact that this psalm was still sung after the exile reveals that the sin problem had not truly been solved by Cyrus’ proclamation. For scholarly explorations of the Jewish understanding that the Babylonian Exile had continued into the first century, see N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (London: SPCK, 1992), 299–301; Rikki E. Watts, Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000); N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, vol. 1 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2013), 108–179. ↩︎

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