Mary's Joy

Her name is Mary. I met her only this weekend and I cannot shake the experience. Upon my greeting of her she made me laugh out loud. "How are you?" I inquired. "I'm fine," she replied. We passed by each other and she stopped, turned around and shouted over the parking lot's distance, "I take that back! I'm old!"

Old or not, there was something different about Mary. There was something of a long life experience of which details were not required that spoke of spiritual growth, of love but of even more than that . . . of joy!

She told the story of going to an 8am worship service at her church. She was the first to arrive and as she waited for others she began to be concerned that others were not going to appear. So she resolved to pray that God would send others. She prayed and prayed and looked around but no one showed up. So . . . she kept praying. Finally, the priest came in to begin the service but she was still the only congregant. What did she do? You guessed it! She prayed some more. Then, all of a sudden, she began to feel a Presence come down the aisle. There was a warm feeling and she felt the Presence move into the pew with her so she slid down to provide more room. She found herself sharing the hymnal. When the priest asked her after the service who she was holding the hymnal for, she replied, "Couldn't you see the Presence of Jesus?"

Characteristic of those who reach the human consciousness level known as joy, is the experience of a Presence or an energy that enables seemingly miraculous experiences. Joy is that stage that follows on the heals of the stage of love. Joy is the place where love becomes so very unconditional that it is present all of the time and cannot be swayed by external happenings. People who live at this level see the positive sides of all things. When they look at the world they see beauty. Life seems to happen almost effortlessly for them as if in synchronous fashion.

Mary was clearly full of joy. She talked to me at length about the fact that there are so many people who know ABOUT God but so few who seem to KNOW God. Those who claim the position of living from joy are people who have come to learn that they would rather know God than just know about God. These are people who have given up their own will and seek to choose the divine will for their lives in all things.

Mary's joy and her thirst for relationship with that which is divine in this world must surely be the path to peace! May we claim Mary's joy today! Amen.