Welcome to our Poetry Party #42!
I am posting this week's Poetry Party since the third week of Advent begins today! I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one). Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog.
Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post and full credit is given – © Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts)
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Poetry Party Theme: Sharing Our Deepest Joy
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
-Zep 3:14-18
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in God always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
-Phil 4:4-7
For this third week of the season of Advent I am hosting a Poetry Party to invite you to help break open the meaning of the sacred texts among us. In a time of year when we are told that our happiness is to be found through excessive consumption, the first two scripture readings speak of a deeper joy – a rejoicing of the heart which emerges from a place of equanimity, exultation, and profound gratitude for life's moments.
The Gospel reading from this week calls us to share the fruits of our gladness with generosity and kindness: "The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” (Luke 3:10-18) Our joy binds us to a responsibility to extend it to others, especially those whom we encounter who have nothing. Happiness may allow us to rest comfortably on our own, joy calls us into the world.
Do you remember the profound and un-self-conscious joy you experienced as a child? When delight erupted from your deepest self in carefree moments? How are you being invited in your most joyful moments to share beyond your most intimate circle?
I invite you to write a poem this week describing the deeper joy of Advent – deeper than mere happiness – and to describe when you listen to that joy, what is your call into the world that emerges from its heart?
© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
