Rejoice! - Re/joy!
Poetry Friday
Friends,
Rejoice is such an interesting word. Depending on how it is used in a sentence, rejoice can mean that you can give joy or you can feel joy. I was curious about why this word began with “re-”. So, I looked it up and excuse me for getting into the nitty gritty of this word but it will make more sense soon!
Rejoice comes from an Anglo-French etymology which began as rejois; re + joir.1 Do you see where I am going here? Rejoice is to re-joy. To me that is to feel joy over and over again either in small doses where we can find it or in abundance all at once! And, isn’t joy such a small word for such a BIG emotion? I read where joy is mentioned 110 times in the Gospel. Joy is “re-joyed” throughout the Bible. As we come to the third Sunday of Advent we are reminded to have joy and to rejoice! Find joy in new births within yourself. Allow for new experiences. Remember the joy of old friendships, new connections, and all the times that memory can bring renewed joy to us.
Know that you can feel joy and you can give joy. Rejoice where you find even the smallest pleasure that can spread joy and hope and peace and love to those around you.
May you be full of re-joy in this season!
Jace
Time Is Time is Too Slow for those who Wait, Too Swift for those who Fear, Too Long for those who Grieve, Too Short for those who Rejoice; But for those who Love, Time is not https://www.poetrysoup.com/henry_van_dyke
Open your Heart
Open your heart.
Open your heart
because joy cannot be experienced
when the door to your heart is closed
Open your heart
because joy cannot be experienced -
when the door to your heart is closed and
the key to unlock it is under the mat
Open your heart
because joy cannot be experienced -
when the door to your heart is closed and
the key to unlock it is under the mat where you left it
while you were waiting for Divine intervention
Open your heart
because joy cannot be experienced -
when the door to your heart is closed and
the key to unlock it is under the mat where you left it.
While you were waiting, Divine intervention was shining a light
under the mat so you could find the key to joy.
Practicing nested meditation by Jace Belz
Joy: A Poem for the Third Sunday of Advent
Children sing
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!
and I agree with that sentiment.
There is a lot of joy available,
worthy of being mentioned four times,
but the down part is true, too.
Very often, the joy is buried deep below the surface,
hidden under layers of information and distraction,
a polished stone under a stack of old newspapers.
So much negative in the world today,
so much trash,
so much fear.
We bury our faces in our phones
because machines are much easier than people,
and the garbage keeps piling on,
and the joy becomes more and more a distant memory.
But joy is our birthright.
The angels told the shepherds they were bringing
good news of a great joy that will be to all people.
The good news is for us,
but we have to make room for it.
Our minds are busier
than a guest house in Bethlehem during a census —
too full for one more family,
even a small one.
The birth is coming,
the joy is promised.
May we make ready,
may we make room.
May we join together,
help each other,
and sanctify space
for God’s great gift of joy.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Rejoice. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved December 12, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rejoice