Thought for Today
Ezra 6:16 The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy . . .
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
Matthew 2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
Tomorrow, as we begin our worship, we will light the third candle on our Advent wreath. In our tradition, the third candle is pink; and, it is the candle of joy.
The word joy appears in the Bible 158 – 218 times depending on the translation one reads. The Greek word translated as joy is χαρά (kara), and my lexicon defines it as “(1) literally joy, as a feeling of inner happiness rejoicing, gladness, delight; (2) by metonymy, (a) the person or thing that is the cause or object of joy or happiness, (b) a state or condition of happiness or blessedness.” (Friberg, Analytical Greek Lexicon)
This year, in these Thoughts, I have used the words joy, enjoy and joyful a total of almost 200 times. Yet, far too often in our world, we forget to seek out the joy all around us. Look at the headlines in any newspaper. Watch almost any television newscast, local or national. About the best we can hope for in a 30-minute newscast is 20 minutes of advertising (usually drugs for diseases few of us thankfully have), 9 minutes of news and 1 minute talking about something good or joyful.
Even during Advent we don’t see any increase in focus on joy. Certainly there is little joy evident in the shopping malls or department stores. About the only evidence we see of joy relative to online shopping is the joy the numbers bring to the online suppliers. I don’t think that is what the angel meant by “good news of great joy for all the people.”
My inner grinch cannot help but wonder what the reaction today might be of “Mattthew 2:1 wise men from the East” were they to arrive in our country. “When they saw that the star had stopped,” would they be “overwhelmed with joy” or would they be on the alert, watching for ICE agents staging a raid to capture dangerous aliens?
How much joy are you feeling right now? How much joy will you feel tomorrow when that pink candle is lit? Will you be more focused on the items remaining on your present list? Will you be worried and fretful about everything left to be done on your Christmas to-do list? Are all the decorations hung? Have all the invitations been sent, and has anyone thought to RSVP?
As a minister, I must admit that even we have holiday stress and overload. Did we remember to order the poinsettias? Is the Christmas Eve bulletin finished and ready for printing? Who are the ushers? How many CEOs (Christmas, Easter, Occasional other) should we anticipate?
Hurry scurry! Hustle bustle! Buy! Is there joy in all of the hullaballoo associated in our modern Christmas ‘celebration?’ Have we lost some of the magic associated with Advent and Christmas? The magic of the little child in the manger. The magic of God come to earth as one of us.
I suspect much of the magic I remember from my childhood reflects all of the effort exerted by my parents to make this a joyous season for me and my siblings. Truth be told, I cannot imagine much joy and/or magic for Joseph when there was no room in the inn, or for Mary as she approached her first childbirth. Did the shepherds worry about leaving their sheep unattended as they headed off to see the baby Jesus? Were those wise men tired and weary after their long journey and especially after their encounter with Herod?
Today and as often as possible these next days, take a few minutes to sit down, take a deep breath and think about the joy in the fact that “John 3:16 . . . God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Stay safe, search out the joy, trust God,
Pastor Ray