Furthermore…

Clerk to angry Devil applying for a vanity plate at motor vehicle bureau:

“No, HELL IS US” is not too many letters, but we don’t allow any religious words!”

Yesterday our discussion of the past Sunday’s reading was proceeded with a kind of Christmas luncheon, so after the festivities ceased we stayed in our dining chairs for the session rather than going to the usual meeting room. The reading from Isaiah (61:1-2a, 10-11) elicited a lot of interest. I had a prompting to share some thoughts on “Rejoice!” but the auspicious moment didn’t happen.

I was thinking that rejoicing is likely to emerge most naturally and fullywhen some great blessing, improvement or gift enters into a well established state of dejection or deprivation, such as sickness, poverty or spiritual emptiness. Jesus asked which debtor would be most grateful to be excused – the one who owed little ,or the one who owed much. A rich kid in the suburbs might be somewhat grateful to be given a new bicycle, but a poor kid getting the same gift would jump up and down overflowing with emotion – rejoicing.