As I continue to listen and look for the theological themes in our everyday lives, as I listen for the words of God hidden in the mostly mundane soundtrack that many of us have playing in the background of our day to day existence, a particular chorus has been catching my ear lately. The song is Happier by Marshmello and Bastille.
Part of the reason it has caught my ear is just because it sounds upbeat and fun. But every time I hear the beginning of the song, I think about God's response to the world and God's decision to come down as Jesus to show us a new way to live.
"Lately, I've been, I've been thinking/
I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier."
In the midst of our turning away, in the midst of our unfaithfulness to God's covenant with us, in the midst of all the pain we cause to each other in this world, God wants us to be happier. I can almost imagine the messenger from God sharing this sentiment with Mary as she learned that she would be the mother of Jesus. While this sentiment may have been shared with her directly, the words are for all of us. Her song to her cousin Elizabeth makes this clear.
God wants us to be happier. And so God did something about it as God always does. Even after "every argument, every word that we can't take back," God still seeks our happiness. We may know how we expect the story to end, but, as Jonah reminds us, God relents. Time and time again, God relents and turns away from wrath to forgiveness.
This is not to say it is always an easy choice for God. As we get to the chorus, I imagine God wavering a little.
"Then only for a minute/I want to change my mind/'Cause this just don't feel right to me"
At times, God promises us vengeance and destruction. God is so disappointed in our inability to keep the promises we have made. And I am sure at times it is tempting to God just to wipe it all out and start over again. It wouldn't be the first time.
And yet, God promised never to destroy the world that way again. God relents, God forgives. Over and over we see this happen in our texts.
And so God comes down to live with us and among us. Our God descends from on high to live a very human life as a way of raising our spirits. God offers us love, forgiveness, reconciliation as a way of making us smile again.
Of course, all metaphors are imperfect. Where the song itself is about a couple on the verge of breakup, of one partner recognizing that long term the only way to make the other happy is to leave, God's response to wanting us to be happy is to become one of us. Yes, later in the story, Jesus physically left this world, but God has never left us alone - not for our happiness or for any other reason. [Note: My wife noted that the idea of needing to leave bridges well to the Ascension; so maybe this song works both for the Annunciation and the Ascension.]
And so as we come to the time of the year where we celebrate the Annunciation, the visit of the messenger from God to Mary, let us remember the reason for that announcement. Jesus came into the world because God wanted us to be happier.