Tessera Materials

Opening Prayer

God of hope,
you call us home from the exile of selfish oppression
to the freedom of justice,
the balm of healing,
and the joy of sharing.
Make us strong to join you in your holy work,
as friends of strangers and victims,
companions of those whom others shun,
and as the happiness of those whose hearts are broken.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Scripture

Isaiah 35:1-10 NIV
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, [2] it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. [3] Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; [4] say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” [5] Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. [6] Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. [7] The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. [8] And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. [9] No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, [10] and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Matthew 11:2-5 NIV
When John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples [3] to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” [4] Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: [5] The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

Reflection & Discussion

Every 3rd Sunday of Advent the Church invites us to focus on joy. As we wait for the the day of a renewed world culminating in eternal joy, we also currently proclaim and participate in unfolding joy around us.

The beloved Christian theologian and writer C.S. Lewis reminded us that joy has a surprising element to it. You can't find it. It finds you.

Mosaic, every Tessera Sunday throughout our calendar year is an opportunity to allow joy to find us as we work together to generate life in all kinds of creative spaces for one another and those around us. What a beautiful way of being the church together! We need to remember how joy finds us. Ron Rolheiser wrote these words.

Joy is always the by-product of something else. As the various versions of The Prayer of St. Francis put it, we can never attain joy, consolation, peace, forgiveness, love, and understanding by actively pursuing them. We attain them by giving them out. That’s the great paradox at the centre of all spirituality and one of the great foundational truths within the universe itself: The air that we breathe out is the air we will eventually breathe back in. Joy will come to us if we set about actively trying to create it for others.

If I go about my life demanding, however unconsciously, that others carry me rather than seeking to carry them; feeding off of others rather than trying to feed them; creating disorder rather than being a principle of peace; demanding to be admired rather than admiring, and demanding that others meet my needs rather than trying to meet theirs, joy will never find me, no matter how hard I party or try to crank up good cheer. I’m breathing the wrong air into the universe.

Jesus breathed the right air into the universe. This is why he was a bringer of joy at his first arrival and will lead the universe into a culmination of joy at his second coming.

Mosaic, as we grow together in breathing the right air into the universe around us we are bringers of joy to one another and our neighbors. Our life together can embody and become a signpost to a coming reality that is the longing of each and every soul – an eternal home of joy.

• Take time and affirm those you're gathering with this week. Go around and share specific ways you see the others you're gathering with breathing the right air into the universe through their lives. Share what it is about them that brings you joy.
• Joy finds us when we stop demanding to be carried and instead carry others. Consider a way or two you can carry another this week. Create an action step and go for it.

Closing Prayer

O God of Isaiah and John the Baptist,
through all such faithful ones
you proclaim the unfolding of future joy
and renewed life.
Strengthen our hearts to believe your advent promise
that one day we will walk in the holy way of Christ,
where sorrow and sighing will be no more
and the journey of God’s people will be joy. Amen.

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