Preparing for Christmas: A Time for Joy

The angel said to the shepherds, Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day … a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).

Unusual things were happening, so there was much fear around. Mary was unexpectedly pregnant, and an angel of the Lord needed to say to her, “Be not afraid”. Joseph, to his great shock, discovered that Mary had become pregnant, so an angel of the Lord needed to say to him as well, “Be not afraid”. Now the shepherds, minding their own business watching over their sheep, were confronted by this great light or Divine appearance all around them, and they needed to hear the words, “Do not be afraid”. Why, “do not be afraid”? Because this was not a time for fear, but for joy (and indeed for celebration)! Why, why “joy”?? Because, as unusual as events might appear, this was the resolution of God’s eternal plan to bring salvation into the grasp of all the world’s people. This is indeed “good news of great joy”. So this is what Christmas is about – “good news of great joy”! But sometimes, for a variety of reasons the potential for joy can be robbed from us.

So my little message this Christmas surrounds the idea of finding ways to maintain a level of joy. We don’t want to allow anything to unnecessarily take away the possibilities of joy this Christmas. But that’s exactly what can so easily happen. People can get too busy – rushing, rushing, rushing – often over things that really are quite peripheral in relation to the big ticket item. Yes, for some people, there is a lot to get done. But if all these things work to take away “joy”, then perhaps these things are being seen with wrong perspective. Then there are the distractions … what we might call the material side of Christmas. If we are looking for our ultimate “joy” here, then I think we are looking in the wrong place. This is because the real “joy” of Christmas is completely tied to the good news of the birth of the Saviour. There is “joy” to be found in the love that has come down at Christmas: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours” – the Creator of the Universe has personally come to earth, in all his generosity and compassion, to connect with us. “Joy to the world, the Lord has come”!

Now, it’s true to say that there are some really significant factors that can at times make our Christmas less than joyful. This is usually connected with sad losses we have encountered during the year, especially recently. This could also be connected to our own health concerns, or deep concerns we have for family members. How can we recover some “joy” within these circumstances? Well here we can draw on some good memories from Christmases past – times when we have been together with loved ones … celebrating and sharing life’s stories. Then we can also draw deeply in the centre of the message of Christmas: God has come to the earth in human form and identified with all the suffering and all the trouble and offered to become our friend and co-traveller. This is a message of great hope … that God will never leave us uncared for … never! If we ever feel lonely, we can talk with God. And God is not an abstract concept – Jesus has made God so real, and personal, and approachable. We read about Jesus and learn what God is like.

Even in desperate situations there could be one thing that can be found (and hung onto) that brings enough “joy” to keep us going: the smile of a little child for instance, or the beauty of a rose; what about the warmth of the sun, or even a refreshing shower of rain; then there is the taste of that good piece of chocolate. Then there are those instances in life that can restore our faith: a simple act of kindness, a timely word of encouragement, a new friendship, or just an inescapable sense of the presence of God. A successful search for “joy” can not only benefit our own well-being, but also can be encouraging for others. Smiling can go viral, spreading from one person to another to another, leading to ever larger celebrations of life itself. Christmas can remind us that Jesus is the source of our deepest joy. And just imagine the great joy that God expressed as he created the earth and everything in it. We ourselves can draw from this same immense depth of joy, not only to satisfy our own needs, but also to soothe the troubled souls of those around us.