Page last updated

 

 

"Joy to the World!"
by Rev. F. Schaefer
based on Luke 2:1-20

How I cherish the words from Luke 2, when the angel proclaims to the shepherds: "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people..."

These words make we want to respond with singing "Joy to the world." But don't worry, I'll wait until we get there in the program.

Humanly speaking things weren't really that joyful on that first Christmas Eve. Nor were things going well leading up to that first Christmas. In fact, the entire Christmas story is one of human dilemma. We have a tendency to romanticize the Christmas story--but being in Joseph or Mary's shoes, I'm sure was anything but romantic.  In fact, the world was in pretty bad shape not just for Joseph and Mary, but in general.

2000 years later, we are celebrating Christmas once again--God's display of grace and love, peace on earth and good-will to men, and things are still pretty bad in the world. We find ourselves surrounded by war and shootings, bombings and hate crimes in a world that seems doomed to unrest. And in the midst of all this uncertainty, we're supposed to celebrate Christmas and sing "Joy to the world" like we really mean it.

Reminds me of Cathy, an inmate of our local county prison. When our little church ministry group went to minister to the prison women last week, we thought it would be a great idea to sing carols with them. Turns out that Cathy didn't think so. We were getting ready to sing Joy to the World" when Cathy blared out: "I ain't singing 'Joy to the World.' I don't feel joyful and I won't the h pretend that I am! What kind of Christmas is that if I can't be with my family?"

Needless to say that we were all dumb-founded. But, you know, Cathy is speaking for a lot of people who are similarly saying: "How can we possibly sing "Joy to the World" and really mean it?" How can anybody keep up their faith in times like this?

As I mentioned in the beginning, things weren't exactly rosy in the days of Mary and Joseph either. In fact, circumstances couldn't have been much worse for Mary and Joseph. There was no medical care for the Mary or her baby. They could not even find a decent place to have the baby. Furthermore, there was a question surrounding the birth of her baby, being out of wedlock. They weren't even married on the day of Jesus's birth. Humanly speaking, there was really nothing positive to be expected for Mary, Joseph, and the baby. And all of this was happening amidst a great political crisis in which an unwanted census was forced upon the already rebellious Jewish people by then super-power Rome.

And yet, somehow, in spite of all that was against them, Mary held fast to the promise given to her by the angel Gabriel. Somehow, she kept the faith, pushed on, never giving up hope, determined to give birth to this holy child, no matter what.

And what would have happened to Mary had Joseph not had faith in the son of God? How would an unwed mother have fared in first-century Galilee? Would her parents have thrown her out? Could Mary and Jesus have wound up as street beggars? Speaking in human terms, God's wondrous Son comes to us as an illegitimate child. Think about it.

Yet, in the midst of the stable, giving birth to what this world would consider an illegitimate baby, there was true joy. It seems that God's joy is not dependent on external things. God's joy is an inner state of happiness you can only get if you are at harmony with God. If we are at harmony with God, the world around us may be falling apart and we can still experience peaceful joy in our hearts!

In this spirit, the apostle Paul writes to his flock in Philippi: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and, again, I say, rejoice!" (Phil 4:4). What makes this "command" to rejoice all the more remarkable is that he writes it to a persecuted congregation. In other words he is encouraging the Philipians, suggesting: In the midst of persecution: rejoice. When they throw you into prison for the sake of Jesus--rejoice. When they ridicule you and treat you with disrespect--rejoice!

Joy in the midst of suffering--that is God's kind of joy!

Put yourself in the shoes of an inmate at the county prison. Imagine you had to spend this weekend locked behind bars. When you strip all the external things away, the traditions, the gifts, the tree, church service, decorations, the carols, even being with your family...would you still be able to be joyful?

If our answer is no, we need to be reminded of what is really important about Christmas, the basics, our salvation, that God is with us. I hope and pray that we may go back to the basics on this Christmas and rejoice in the gift that God has shared with us and the whole earth. Then, and only then, can we truly chime in with the angelic choirs of angels: "Joy to the World, the Lord is come!" Merry Christmas everybody.