Rejoice, Favored One: Joy in the Face of an Empire

The world is a little bit dystopian right now. Global chaos? Misogynistic and transphobic laws? Genocide? Check, check, and check. 

And yet – joy exists. In fact, joy is a powerful antidote to empire and control. Don’t let the emperor steal your joy. 

One way I deepened my joy this year is by praying the rosary. Yes, I know this is unusual for a Disciples crowd. Mine is a Divine Feminine rosary that honors the Catholic form while adapting it expansively. You might hear, “Holy Mother, Queen of the Cosmos” or “Our Father who art in heaven, our Mother who art the Earth.” The rosary also incorporates mysteries rooted in the life of Mary: the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious.

The joyful mysteries – annunciation, visitation, nativity, presentation, and finding Jesus at the temple – are found in the Gospel of Luke. The annunciation and visit to Elizabeth provide the text for the first half of the Hail Mary prayer: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee (Luke 1:28). Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Luke 1:42). Of course, as a Disciple and a New Testament enthusiast, I could not resist a little modification.The word usually translated as “Hail” comes from the Latin translation of Ave. But the original Greek is Kaire! Rejoice! It’s not a solemn greeting, but a fiery imperative. The angel practically shouts at Mary to REJOICE at the bewildering news of the conception. Now I pray the first line of the prayer like this: “Rejoice, favored one, the Lord is with you.” 

Praying the mysteries of Mary’s life each day has been steadying. The angelic command to rejoice must have seemed ironic to Mary. A young, unwed and poor Jewish woman living at the edge of an unforgiving empire hardly seems like cause for joy. 

Yet, she did find joy, and a particular pattern emerges here. Mary went with haste to Elizabeth, consulting with her elder. 

Elizabeth tells Mary that she is blessed among women. Following Elizabeth’s blessing, Mary sings the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. She anticipates a joyful future where God’s justice fills the earth. Though Mary saw very little of Rome’s proud scattered, she anticipated a justice-filled earth. 

Only then does she re-emerge, returning to her village to prepare for birth and the rearing of her child. Rest, retreat, sing, and act – it’s a pattern we might follow, too. 

However weary we are – and you have good reason to be – Mary reminds us what many contemporary prophets of color have been speaking in recent years; resilience and survival is possible. Humanity have done this before. Even though empire killed her own child, Mary found joy. 

Joy is the rebellious answer to empire. 

Perhaps close your eyes briefly and imagine the angel speaking these words to you right now: Rejoice, favored one. You are called to this.

Claim fierce joy. It’s what Mary did.

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Rev. Dr. Katy E. Valentine is a Disciples minister, New Testament scholar, and DSF alum (GTU, Ph.D./2015).