Christmas
Joy to the World
Christmas is finally here. All four weeks of Advent we have been waiting and praying for the coming blessings of Christmas. And now Christmas is here. Today the angels are bringing us the good news of great joy for all the people, for to us is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. As people of God we have a claim to the joy and the peace that the birth of Christ brings to the world.
But how do I personally enter into this "great
joy" of Christmas? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes,
but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question, for, even
though God has declared joy to the whole world, there are still many among us
who do not flow in this joy, many among us who do not know how to claim this
joy and make it their own personally.
As we listen to the Christmas story we will do well to pay
attention to the various people and groups of people that are mentioned and see
whether they have tried to please Jesus and others before themselves, or
whether they have sought to please themselves first. You will discover that
those who practice J-O-Y are the ones who enjoy peace and joy, and that those
who practice "self first" are always the unhappy and miserable ones.
Here are a few examples.
The innkeeper who turned Joseph and Mary out in the cold
night while he enjoyed the warmth of the inn; the good news simply passed him
by. He didn't even know there was a good news. Or take Herod the King who
wanted above all his job security as king to the point that he was prepared to
kill Jesus and others. He wound up a poor, sad, depressed, confused, wretched
fellow. On the positive side, consider the shepherds who were prepared to leave
everything they had, their flock, in the bush and go to adore Jesus first. Or
the magi, the wise men from the East who left the security of their homeland
and undertook a long and dangerous journey to Bethlehem only to worship the
new-born Jesus and give him presents. These were the one's who received God's
favour, the ones who experienced in their hearts the true peace and joy of
Christmas. Let us today resolve to follow their good example by always placing
Jesus and others before self and then the joy of Christmas will always be ours.
Happy Christmas
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