Do you know what I hope for every single one of you tonight? That you might be given the gift of joy. That you might experience the deep joy that comes from hearing the promise that Jesus Christ, God’s light wrapped in flesh, has entered into our dark world, and entered into our dark lives.
May 2020 be remembered as the year of joy! Now, I know, I know, the first thing that you think of when you hear the year 2020 mentioned is “joy.” If 2020 is a year of “joy” then I am pretty sure I am all joyed out!
Do you remember when the pandemic first started and we were quarantined to our homes, we heard people talk about the unexpected happiness that they were encountering. They had time to sit at the dinner table and have a family dinner. There was plenty of time for the family to just be family. Remember that happy...week?
And now we are in the tenth month of this thing, and I hear myself trying to order my children, “This is Christmas, we are supposed to be happy because of Jesus’ birth. It is time for you to start being happy. Ok?”
That was a golden parenting moment right there. If you need more parenting tips you can find my email address on the website. Needless to say, I am pretty sure that our family is done with the happy family phase.
So, let us just lay it right out there. There is a lot about this Christmas that just is not very happy. Some people are getting tired of being stuck together, while at the same time others are listening to our gripes and yearning to have the chance to be stuck together with family. Lots and lots of family celebrations will be done over Facetime, or Zoom, or phone, or not at all. This time around, Christmas is feeling pretty dark for people, and I am not just talking about the sun going down at 4:00 in the afternoon! What is up with that? This year is a tough one for a lot of us.
So let me just preach this: “It is Christmas and it is time to just be happy! OK?” Did it work for you? I thought not.
And here is where the Bible is going to start preaching to us. The Bible is going to have compassion on us and point out that there probably was not a lot of happiness going around that first Christmas either.
I know, I know, the Christmas cards all have beautiful pictures of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus happily gazing at one another in the star bathed stable in Bethlehem. Have you ever been in a barn? If I had to stick a baby in a feeding trough, I guarantee that I would be using a bucket of hand sanitizer first.
Speaking of which, I have a parishioner who literally has a bucket of hand sanitizer. She needs to get rid of it. If you need some, let me know.
But, you get my point. There likely was not a lot of happiness going on in that stable.
And, that does not even talk about the journey that the pregnant Mary had to make to get to Bethlehem. I know how hard the journey from the recliner to the kitchen sink was for my wife the day before she gave birth. I assure you that Mary was singing no glorious tunes on her miles long journey. There were probably noises alright, but they were not ones stemming from bliss, I guarantee.
And, those shepherds, sitting out in the cold fields, watching their flocks during the night shift of their minimum wage job probably were not the epitome of happiness either. For them, it was just another night of cold, darkness.
And, unfortunately, a lot of people will identify with the shepherds tonight as they enter yet another night of darkness where they struggle with their children, or they struggle with their demons, or they struggle with the death of that one person who always called this night every year, but not this year, or they spend the night alone. Where is the happiness of Christmas?
But, the angels do not promise happiness when they break open the heavens and come. The Bible preaches that they promise something else all together. The Bible says that they bring to the shepherds, and to us, “good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
God does not send the angels to bring happiness to the earth. God sends the angels to bring news of “great joy.”
Did you catch that? I hope you did because there is a difference.
Happiness is a temporary reaction to something great. And, I do hope that you are given some happiness this Christmas. Do not go home and say, “Pastor says it don’t matter if you’re ever happy.” Also not a great parenting tip! Yes, we need happiness too, but what the angels bring is so much better; it is news of “great joy.”
Christian joy is what happens to you when a promise that God has made comes true. The shepherds are not happy about the cold night, but they are certainly joyful about God hearing the pleas of lowly minimum wage, disposable people such as them. Joy fills them as they learn that God has sent them a savior, the promised Messiah. This Messiah, it is said, will care for the lowly.
Joy is what happens, as Isaiah 9 says, when “the people who walked in darkness” finally “have seen a great light.” And, this bringer of light and life, as John says, “is the light of all people.” That includes you.
And, though the stable was probably not a happy place, God certainly made it a holy temple of heavenly joy as the shepherds shared all that had been told them by the angels. The Bible says that Mary “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” That looks a lot like joy to me. Mary took these words of great joy and held them close and safe.
Little did she know that she would need these words of promise and joy 33 years later as she watched her child dying on a cross. But, darkness does not defeat light, and hardship does not destroy joy.
Happiness, yes. Hardship crushes happiness. But, joy is a gift from God that sustains through the dark night and the dark soul. The joy of knowing that the savior has come sustains us through the pangs of grief when we realize that that special someone is not here to celebrate with us. We are not happy, but you can discover a deep joy knowing that the savior reigns and that the savior has not forgotten our loved one, or us.
Happiness has a very hard time lighting much more than a short flame when times are dark. Happiness are those dollar store lighters that only muscle men can keep lit. But joy, knowing that the Lord enters the dark world and shines brightly, is an eternal torch that brings hope to the world. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
I sang that song during the summer once. It was at a Bible camp and we sang it while sitting around a fire. I was sitting on a log next to a girl with black lipstick and black fingernail polish, and long black hair hiding her face. She hid from the light of the fire, remaining in the dark as she talked.
“My life is pretty dark,” she admitted to those of us gathered around. These words were some of the girl’s first vulnerable words spoken all week; breaking the image of the tough girl that she had been presenting the previous days.
My parents are pretty mean, and I am too I guess. My Dad told me I’m a nobody; worthless. I guess I am. Like I said, my life is pretty dark.”
A kid sitting near with dark skin spoke up, “I get it. People look at my skin and assume I’m dark and worthless too.” He looked down, a position he was used to.
I stared at both of them, having never experienced that depth of darkness until much later in life. They were both so young. I threw a twig into the fire to break up the silence.
Looking into each of their eyes, my camp counselor said something very simple, but very profound for my young ears (or even for my adult ears still). “Darkness isn’t all that bad. The Bible says that it is in the darkness where the light of Jesus shines. Don’t forget, Jesus was born in the night. He taught Nicodemus in the middle of the night. He died in the darkness and was raised to new life in the darkness too. God makes great things happen in the dark. Salvation happens in the dark. God will make great things happen for you also. Darkness is not all that bad.”
They were words, not of happiness, but of joy. The tough girl in black shed a tear that streamed down in the glow of the firelight and landed on a small smile, glistening on black lips. It was joy. The dark skinned boy sat up straighter, like he had been given some confidence that he never knew could exist. It was joy.
And, to you this night, who sit in the darkness areas of life, the angel says to you: “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 in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Christ does not hesitate to enter into your dark places and shine. It is Jesus Christ who graces you with his presence, his forgiveness, and his eternal joy, especially when you find yourself a person of darkness.
After-all, if light shines in the dark, then I guess that the Lord can shine in us too.
No comments:
Post a Comment