CHRISTMAS GREETING CARD SERMON IV: JOY
For some folks, Christmas is the happiest time of the year; for others, Christmas is the saddest time of the year. It all depends on how you feel about your circumstances in life.
An editorial page headline recently read, “The sad results of too much happiness” – the article having to do with the misfortunes of those who had won big over the years by playing the lottery.
The popularity of game shows on which contestants jump for “joy” when they win any amount of money or any number of prizes suggests to me that people get a thrill out of winning.
Do you suppose that all too often we tend to associate happiness and joy with money and material possessions as opposed to what it is that really constitutes true happiness and genuine joy?
Most folks look forward to Christmas; some look forward to the day after Christmas. It all depends on how commercialized we as individuals want to make it.
Sure, the commercial aspect of Christmas generates the excitement of anticipation, especially in children; yet there are children who would not experience this excitement were it not for good-hearted folks who contribute in some small way to help every child have a merry Christmas.
As we participate in the traditions of the Christmas Season – decorated trees, bright lights, parties, family get-togethers, gift giving and receiving, Christmas plays, worship services, concerts, caroling and all the rest – there is one word in the English language that, to me, describes what I wish for everyone to experience as a result of all that we see and hear and do during the Christmas Season. That word is JOY.
You may feel happy . . . You may feel sad . . . You may look forward to Christmas Day . . . You may look forward to the day after . . . How you feel about it really has nothing to do with whether or not you experience the JOY of Christmas – for, you see, JOY as expressed in the Bible was not meant to be a feeling. JOY was meant to be a gift of love.
Some folks equate joy with happiness; but, you know, you can feel unhappy, due to your circumstances, and still experience the gift of JOY. You may or may not get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas and still experience the gift of JOY. You may or may not get involved in the traditions of Christmas and still experience the gift of JOY.
How can I possibly conclude that neither family circumstances, nor shopping sprees or the observance of holiday traditions have no effect on whether or not I will or will not experience the JOY of Christmas?
I can say it only because I have learned both from experience and extensive Bible study that all the traditional activities we tend to associate with the Christmas Holidays have to do with our feelings.
Yes, I wish you a “Merry” Christmas because I hope you feel merry rather than teary. I wish you a “Happy” New Year because I want for each and every one of you the happiness of not having to worry about anything.
From now until next Christmas I want you to feel glad, not sad; but we are talking about feelings – and feelings change as circumstances change.
When the Bible speaks of JOY, the use of that word is the best our English language can do to describe that which is humanly unspeakable – God’s GIFT of love to the world! Luke 2:8-11 . . .
The JOY spoken of here is a divine blessing – not a human feeling!
Luke is telling us that the promise made to Abraham - that through his seed all the world would be blessed - has been fulfilled.
Luke is telling us that God’s eternal love has been revealed in human history – in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Savior.
The angel said to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.” The angel might just as well have said, “I bring you good news of a great gift of love that will be for all people.”
God’s gift to the world is God’s JOY to the world. “For unto you has been born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”
Where were they to find Him? In a cow stall – in a feeding trough! Among whom were they to find Him? Among ordinary folks!
For us ordinary folks, happiness is having everything go right . . . a sense of contentment . . . feeling good about our circumstances – perhaps with a few laughs thrown in for good measure. But JOY – real JOY – wonderful JOY is not dependent upon circumstance or commercialization.
Real JOY is the gift of God’s love – born in a manger among the ordinary.
It goes without saying that there’s a lot of turmoil in our world today; and we are told that the threat of terrorism is very real. I am reminded of this each time I go to the Atlanta Airport to board a plane. It’s worth the long wait in the security lines to feel safe from some lunatic. Do you ever get the feeling that insanity is the order of the day - a world gone mad!?
On a personal level, more often than not, there is a lot of uncertainty as to our own individual futures – especially when it comes to issues of aging, declining health, adjustments that we have no choice but to make due to changing times and circumstances. Let me share with you one example:
My wife, my sister and I drove up to Blairsville recently to visit with my 88-year-old brother-in-law who lives in an assisted living complex. His name is Claude, and he seems to have made the adjustment very well.
He told us that he had no choice but to live there, but that he was making the most of his situation. “The people here,” he said, “are so nice, and they do all they can to make it like home.” He went with us to his favorite place to eat in Blairsville – a Chinese restaurant where they don’t even ask him what he wants to eat. The waitress bowed in the Chinese tradition and said to him, “Pop, I’ll be right back with your shrimp.”
Over the years, anytime Claude and my now-deceased sister Edna went out to eat with any of us, he would order shrimp – even for breakfast! Did you know that shrimp goes good with garlic and cheese grits? My brother-in-law loved our time of fellowship, and we did too; yes, he has adjusted; he felt good about us coming; we felt good about going. Christmas for all of us will be much “merrier” because we got a chance to be with him.
By our “presence” he was thrilled, and so were we. But we also took him a couple of “presents” which, by the way, he never made mention of. Our “presence” overshadowed our “presents.” He was overjoyed by our coming from afar to see him!
Despite all the turmoil and uncertainty - in our world and in our own lives - Christians can still feel good about the gift of JOY that has come into the world. In fact, I prefer to think of the JOY that is ours in the same way that the angel put it – “great” JOY!
Why was the good news great JOY? Let’s answer that question with a series of other questions: What had God’s people needed for so many millenniums before the birth of Jesus?
What had mankind needed since Adam and Eve? Why was Noah’s “ark” necessary? What had God’s people longed for since the call of Abraham? Why was Moses sent down to Egypt to lead the people of God to the Promised Land? What had been the message of the prophets through the generations?
The answer to those questions is one thing that Christians, Jews and most other religions agree on: that the human race was in need of a Deliverer – someone to deliver them from the curse of sin that had invaded the world.
Christians believe that the Bible is God’s Holy Word . . . the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind . . . the Bible plainly tells us that Jesus Christ was and is God’s final revelation of Himself to the world.
So, the good news of JOY was great because the time had finally come for God to send His “Deliverer” - one who would save the people from their sins once and for all – by His presence among us and, after all had been said and done – from the cradle to the cross - by His taking our punishment for us!
Great JOY – because the Savior has been born.
Great JOY – because God’s promise of a Deliverer has been fulfilled.
Great JOY – because the Lord himself has come to dwell among us.
Into a broken world he came, no place to stay, not good enough –
in a feeding trough, the infant lay – the gift of JOY!
Amid the limits of our frame, by deed and word, the life of love,
the word of life for all who heard – the gift of JOY!
Aloft in public view and shame, in agony on a cruel cross
to bear the punishment for you and me – the gift of JOY!
We are told in Hebrews that Jesus “for the JOY set before him endured the cross . . ..” Hardly a happy situation for Jesus, yet He looked upon it as how the ultimate outcome would be JOY for those who believe in Him and accept Him as personal Lord and Savior.
Today, in the spirit of the Holidays, I wish you a Merry Christmas.
Yet, my greatest wish for you is Christmas JOY – that you may receive God’s gift of JOY – real JOY that no circumstance, no commercialization, no consternation can take from you.
Thank you, Lord, for your gift of JOY! Amen!
