Shield the Joyous

The Book of Common prayer has a prayer in the Order for Compline which reads:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.  Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

The petition to "shield the joyous" has always seemed odd.  Among all of the other concerns that are listed, why pray for the joyous? Surely they are not in distress as the others listed in the prayer.

I have certainly been living with joy the last weeks.  Initially it began in anticipation of my wedding to the one who I have loved for over thirty years.  The sense of joy grew as family arrived, and the day of the event was overflowing with delight and happiness.  The centerpieces, arranged by a creative member of the parish, were filled with joy.  They were her image of fireworks, with wood, glass, and flowers, and rightly became a symbol for the celebratory excitement.

The nature of joy is that it does not, cannot, last a long time, much as the flowers in the centerpieces.  Individual day lilies only bloom for a single day; joy slips away.  Other emotions, such as sadness, sneak in place of joy, rushing to fill that empty space left behind.  Family are gone, memories of congratulations begin to fade, and the schedule returns to normal. 

Joy opens up a vulnerability unlike any other. In opening to it, we are opened to the full range of intense emotions, which are as permanent as fireworks.  Boom, flash, then darkness.  The "AH!" is followed by an awareness of how dark the sky seems again.

So, along with the weary, the dying, the suffering, the afflicted, remember the joyous in your prayers today.