Peek-A-Boo
The Second Week of Advent – The lighting of the candle for “Joy.” As we continue to work through our Advent preaching series, “The Wisdom of Dolly,” I have to note that “Joy” is probably one of the top associations that folks have with our Tennessee Treasure, Dolly Parton. Even though last week, we started with looking at the very sad songs from her early catalog as part of our conversation about “Hope,” it is this idea of “Joy” that is probably to quickest association with Dolly. In my house growing up at Christmas time, there were three CDs that were on regular rotation. Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album, Billboard’s 1989 Greatest Christmas Hits album, and Dolly Parton’s Home for Christmas, which we bought at the gift shop on a visit to Dollywood amusement park. She closes out that album with one of my favorite versions of “Joy to the World,” because when Dolly sings the word “Joy,” you can hear her smile through the song.
In 2004, Dolly wrote an article for the Christian publication Guideposts, in which she claimed, “I hear it from folks all the time: ‘Gosh, Dolly, you seem so happy!’ Well, my smile’s pretty hard to miss, considering I’m a gal who likes her lipstick—the redder, the better.” Dolly IS a source of Joy. She is a light. She sings like an angel and is always quick with an uplifting comment or a joke, usually about herself. She is a beloved figure precisely because she seems to radiate joy and be intent on sharing it with others and spreading it as far and wide as she can. And let’s be honest. There are not many famous people that consistently radiate Joy in the manner or to the extent of Dolly.
In this Guideposts article, Dolly shared her five secrets to her success in finding and keeping joy. She says they are:
1. I love my family and friends.
2. I love what I do.
3. I love to laugh.
4. I love to pray.
5. I love you. (which she directs at all of her fans.)
She writes, “I am a happy person. That is my greatest blessing. It can be yours too. Think about it. Friends and family, work, laughter, prayer, love. They add up to joy. For you, for me, for anyone.”
Dolly makes it sound so simple? Too simple. But while her formula for Joy is simple, I have to believe that Dolly comes by her joy honestly. Because if there is one thing about which I am fairly certain, it is that famous people in our world don’t have simple and completely joyful lives. In the last couple of weeks, in addition to immersing myself in all things Dolly, I have managed to read a couple of celebrity memoirs. I read the Britney Spears memoir and am finishing up the Matthew Perry memoir, and I am more convinced than ever that to be famous in this world often means frantically chasing this very elusive thing called “Joy.” Being rich and/or famous does not make people perpetually joyful. The constant scrutiny about every element of one’s life, from their appearance to their activities to every word that comes from their mouths… Fame sounds more like a recipe for misery than Joy, and we have seen how fame and notoriety can literally destroy and end lives.
Dolly Parton, in her six decades of fame, always seems Joy-filled at first look. But if you look beneath the surface, if you read her memoirs and if you listen to her interviews, you know that she has endured some really hard moments as well. She grew up incredibly poor, in a two bedroom house with her parents and 11 siblings, and was teased by classmates for her hand-me-down and homemade clothes (as she sings about in her song “Coat of Many Colors”). As part of her big break she was the pretty girl sidekick to a man who ended up trying to control her talent and narrow the trajectory of her career, which led to a vicious end to their relationship. The New York Historical Society even includes in it’s Life Story of Dolly how in 1984, Dolly underwent a hysterectomy as treatment for a medical condition, which meant that she would never be able to have children. This was devastating news for Dolly, who had always wanted to become a mother. The story reports that around this same time she fell into a deep depression and even contemplated suicide. She’s had trials and tribulations. She’s known real pain, just like the rest of us. And yet she has figured out her own recipe that always allows Joy to persistently bubble its way back to the surface.
That’s the thing about “Joy,” and it is the thing that I want us to remember as we focus in on the Joy of Advent that we encounter fully on Christmas morning, when God arrives again in the form of a newborn Jesus. Joy is not a constant state of being. Joy is not static. It’s more like an emotion or an experience that pops up and hits you like – “Peek-A-Boo".” We can’t force it. We can’t make joy happen, but what we can do is cultivate the right conditions to more readily welcome Joy and more easily recognize Joy when it pops up next.
When Dolly shared her five things that she notes are her secrets to a more joyful life, these things aren’t the Joy itself. What Dolly is describing are the conditions that she has sought to create in her life that more readily allow for Joy’s peek-a-boo arrival. They are the things within Dolly’s control that maximize the arrival of something that is often outside of our control. We can’t force Joy to happen. You can’t get in someone’s face and say, “Be joyful! Right now!” But we can look at the conditions of our lives and ask us whether we are ready for the surprise of Joy to hit us, and whether we will recognize Joy for what it is and allow ourselves to experience Joy fully.
The approach of Christmas is supposed to be a time where Joy is magnified, with a building expectation that culminates on Christmas morning with God’s arrival. So what this Advent season offers us, and what Dolly Parton’s wisdom offers us, is a chance to ask ourselves… Are you ready? We are a people who know how to prepare for the worst outcomes, but do we ever prepare for the best? Whenever Joy pops up in your life… Are you ready? Are there things distracting you or clouding your vision such that you won’t see Joy when it appears?
We all have challenges small and large, but ask yourself - Are there emotions or worries taking up so much space in your mind and heart that when Joy pops up you are unable to welcome it in, to feel it wash over you? How can you cultivate the conditions in your life that will allow you to meet the Joy of Christmas completely, to be completely filled up, even for a brief time, with Joy that comes from the miracle of God sending us Jesus as our guide?
So, Peek-A-Boo. Here comes Joy. Our scripture tells us “Prepare a way for the Lord.”
Joy IS coming. Are you ready?
Amen.
