Exploring Hope: A joyless Christmas?

Joy is one of those words that has become a “Christmas cliché.” We see it plastered everywhere from Christmas cards to wrapping paper. We sing about it in our carols but simultaneously feel very little "joy to the world.”  So why all this talk about joy at Christmas?

Well, it wasn't invented by a marketing team at Hallmark or a clever carol writer. Rather, everything we know about the first Christmas 2000 years ago is found in two books: “The Gospel of Luke” and “The Gospel of Matthew” (both of these historical biographies of Jesus are included in the New Testament). So, I would recommend reading the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke this Christmas season to see what the original sources say about joy. And as you do this, I believe that you'll notice several truths about biblical joy:

First, joy isn't simply a happy feeling in response to perfect circumstances. For example, Mary the mother of Jesus felt joy about the birth of her child. But she wasn’t preparing for her “best life now;” she was entering a life of suffering and rejection. Her fiancé, Joseph, didn't believe she had conceived through the Holy Spirit until God sent him a dream. Her neighbors assumed that she was pregnant through sexual immorality. And eventually, she would watch her son die an agonizing death on the cross.

Second, joy isn't an anti-intellectual exercise whereby we stuff our heads in the sand. Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah, the angels, the shepherds, and the Magi all experienced joy at the birth of Jesus because they saw who he was (the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament) and what he would do (save humanity from their sins). So, they used their minds and their hearts to respond appropriately to the appearance of Emmanuel — God with us — to redeem humanity.

Third, joy is the only natural response to Jesus if the biblical witness is true. If Jesus is just another good moral teacher, then he certainly isn’t a deep well of lasting joy for those who sit in darkness. But if he is the Second Person of the Trinity who entered the world 2000 years ago to take on a true human nature in order to live the perfect life we could never live and to die a sacrificial death in our place, then we have reason for joy. Our joy isn't founded in the fact that life is easy or free of suffering. Instead, we rejoice in the fact that were not alone in the world. Out of deep love, God has made a way for us to experience eternal life through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. So if you're looking for joy this Christmas, you won't find it in presents or good food. You won't even find it in time with friends and family. The Christmas story shows that true, lasting joy is found in a baby was born 2000 years ago.

About Will Stern

Originally from Colorado, Will Stern is the pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Garnet Valley. He majored in violin performance for his undergrad and taught violin for a number of years before being called into ministry. He studied theology at Duke University and Westminster Theological Seminary.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (10 votes, average: 4.70 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply