“Guidelines for Christmas: Jump for Joy”
Is. 35; Lk. 1:11-25
The Sunday School class for 7 year olds was barely underway when one little boy suddenly exclaimed to the teacher, “Can we hurry up? This is boring!” Immediately the little girl to his left gave him a sharp elbow to the side and rebuked him: “Shut up. It’s supposed to be boring!” Unfortunately, too many people, well beyond the age of 7, have a similar view of the Christian life: boring, lifeless, full of duty, ritual, and restriction. Yet the portrait painted in Scripture and modeled in Jesus is radically opposite of this view. Jesus desires for us to live an abundant life of joy. In fact, as we examine our passages for this morning we discover that Jesus brings joy everywhere He goes and in everything He does.
First of all, JESUS BRINGS JOY TO THE WORLD. It was even predicted in the account of the birth of John the Baptist (Lk. 1:11-25). Zechariah and Elizabeth were two loyal, faithful Jews. Zechariah, in fact, was a priest in the Temple. The only problem was the lack of a child - Elizabeth was barren. Not only did lack of children deprive parents of a special joy, it was also considered a sign of divine disfavor, which could lead to social ostracism. So Zechariah and Elizabeth continually prayed. One day, on duty in the Temple, God appeared to Zechariah: “Your wife ... will bear you a son ... He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth...Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God...(and) turn the hearts of the fathers to their children...” God answered their prayers. Not only would they have a child, they would have a son – and their son would be the forerunner for Jesus. Their son would set the stage for joy, by turning people back to God, and restoring and refocusing families. He would pave the way for the life of joy prophesied in Isaiah 35: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.” TRUE JOY COMES ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.
More than two hundred years ago, a young man with the sophistication of an Oxford scholar climbed the steps of a stone monument called the “market cross” in the industrial ghetto of Liverpool, England. Leaning against the cross and looking out over the milling masses, his eyes and ears were shocked by the sights and sounds of dirty and bedraggled miners and millers venting the rage of their hopelessness with damning curses and drunken brawls. Breathing a prayer and stretching tall against the cross, the young man began to sing, “O, for a thousand tongues to sing, My great redeemers praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace.” The words came easily from his lips because he had written them to celebrate the first anniversary of his conversion to Jesus Christ. He had no trouble with the music because he sang in the melody of a popular tune which all of the people would recognize. Wafting over the market square like a clarion call, the song brought an abrupt halt to the bickering and brawling masses. Never before had they heard a note of joy in a religious context. To them, the church meant a sober sound reserved for saints and sanctuaries. To them, religion meant a division between the saved and the damned, with little doubt about their eternal position. To them, God was a great watch-maker in the sky who wound up the world and left it running without a whit of care for his own creation. No wonder Charles Wesley got their attention. He sang a song of a God of love who offered free grace for all through His Son Jesus Christ. (1) Joy is the only tone that can carry that message. Only Jesus brings such joy to the world. Indeed, as Isaiah predicted (35:10), the redeemed of the Lord “…will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Jesus brings joy to the world.
Then, too, JESUS BRINGS JOY TO HIS FRIENDS. Through God’s love, expressed in Jesus, we are loved. On the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus told his disciples (John 15) “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you....you will remain in my love...as I remain in (the Father’s) love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete...” There’s a trail of unbroken love from God our Father to Jesus to us – what greater joy can there be than to know we are loved? And Jesus told us that WE EXPERIENCE THIS JOY BY BEING HIS FRIEND. And we become His friend through obedience to Him; and obedience means loving each other: “You are my friends if you do what I command...If you obey my commands you will remain in my love...My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” JOY COMES THROUGH JESUS TO US AS WE LOVE EACH OTHER! The reward for obedience is not salvation – salvation is a gift. The reward for obedience is a deep, life-long joy. As someone once said, “To know God’s will is life’s greatest treasure. To do God’s will is life’s greatest pleasure.” When we love one another with Jesus’ love, we experience joy. Jesus brings joy to His friends.
Thirdly, JESUS BRINGS JOY FOR ETERNITY. Isaiah painted a picture of this eternal joy (35:6-7): “Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.” So Jesus, continuing His final night dialogue with His disciples Jesus told them that He would be leaving them, but “Your grief will turn to joy...A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world...Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and NO ONE WILL TAKE YOUR JOY FROM YOU.” Following the resurrection there would be a new eternal joy, an inner joy that no one and nothing can take away. In a space the world cannot penetrate, there will be joy – eternally! The world can destroy what’s on the outside, but not what’s on the inside. When Barb and I toured the Holy Land we were told that we would not be able to take any fruit we purchased there back across the border. The only way, literally, we could take it with us, what to eat it! No one can take what’s inside. So it is with Jesus’ joy.
How does this joy come about? How do we activate it? “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Until that time the disciples had asked Jesus for what they needed and wanted – Jesus now points them to the source joy – our Father. So IF WE ASK THE FATHER IN JESUS’ NAME, HE WILL GIVES US THE DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS – our joy will be complete! Our joy will be forever!
Jesus brings joy to the world, and to his friends, for eternity. But how can we be sure? WE HAVE A GUARANTEE.
Years ago an American husband and wife, with their three young children, were traveling in France. Their rented car broke down in what we could call a not so nice area. The family grew increasingly irritable trying to find a decent place to stay. On Christmas Eve they finally checked into a dingy hotel. Since it was rainy and cold they went up the street to a ‘drab little joint’ for dinner. Only five tables were occupied and it had a depressing atmosphere, but the father was too tired and miserable to go any further.
His wife ordered the meal in French and what they were served was not what she ordered. The man began to lambaste his wife but their sons defended their mother and left him feeling rejected. Seated at the table next to them was a French couple with several children. At one point their father slapped one of the children for a minor infraction and the child wept bitterly. On the other side of them was a German couple and the wife was berating her husband. The only happy seeming person there was an American sailor at a table by himself writing a letter.
The front door opened, letting in a gust of cold air, and in walked an old woman selling her flowers. Her long coat was dripping with rain, her rundown shoes left wet footprints as she went from table to table with her basket of flowers. No one bought any so she sat at a table and said to the waiter, “A bowl of soup. I haven’t sold a flower all afternoon.” In one corner a piano player has been listlessly playing some Christmas music. “Can you imagine, Joseph?” she said to him, “Soup on Christmas Eve.” And they sat there in silence.
At that point the sailor finished his meal, got up and walked over to the woman. With a smile he said, “Merry Christmas. I would like to have two of your little corsages. How much are they?” “Oh, monsieur, they are a franc apiece.” “I’ll take two,” he said as he handed her a 20-franc note. “Monsieur,” she said, “I don’t have change. I’ll get some from the waiter.” “No, ma’am” he replied, “don’t bother. The change is my Christmas present to you.” Then he leaned over and kissed her on her cheek. Then he walked over to the American father and said, “Sir, may I have the pleasure of presenting this corsage to your beautiful daughter?” whereupon he handed the corsage to the man’s wife, while the three boys looked on with delight. Then he pressed the other corsage flat, put it into the letter he had written, said “Merry Christmas, everybody!” and walked out into the night.
At that point the restaurant exploded with Christmas. The old woman, waving the 20-fanc note, danced a happy jig and called to the piano player, “Joseph, my Christmas present! And you shall have half of it, so that you, too, can have a wonderful feast.” The American wife waved her hands, keeping time with the happy music the piano player was now beating out. She began to sing, tears in her eyes and the corners of her mouth turned upwards as she started laughing. The German couple jumped to their feet and began singing in German. The French boy who had been slapped climbed into his father’s lap, singing in a youthful soprano, while the father beat in rhythm with his fork against a glass. Everybody joined in their own language and manner, and there was such enthusiasm that more people came in from outside, packing the room with singing people, jumping for joy – all because one sailor brought joy to a table.
It’s just like Jesus – for JESUS also BRINGS JOY TO THE TABLE. The bread and the cup are the signs of His love. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) HIS BROKEN BODY AND SHED BLOOD ARE THE GUARANTEES OF OUR JOY. But Jesus did not stop with his friends – for the very soldiers who spit on Him and crucified Him, He died; for the very officials who sentenced Him, He died; for the religious leaders who rejected Him, He died; for me, He died; for you, He died. As Paul wrote (Rom. 5:8), “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Now no one can condemn us; no one can bring a charge against us that will stick; no one and nothing can take us out of Jesus’ hands and heart. There is nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth that can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. We, of all people, can jump for joy!
Whatever your situation right now, Jesus brings joy to the table for you. What was on your mind and in your heart when you left home this morning? The fight you just had with your spouse or kids? That illness just diagnosed that frightens you? The loneliness you’re feeling? The trouble with and concerns over your children? Your job situation? Your fatigue and burn out? The sin you’re trying to hide? The guilt you are bearing? Your fear of the future? The lack of love in your life? Hear me - FOR YOU JESUS BRINGS JOY TO THE TABLE! Eat the bread, drink from the cup, love and receive love from those around you, pray in Jesus’ name – and your joy will be complete! You will overflow with joy! Right now, at this table, we proclaim “Joy to the world! The Lord has come!” Let’s jump for joy as we eat and drink!
(1) From MEGATRUTH, The Church in the Age of Information, by David McKenna, pubished by Here’s Life
