’Tis the Season to be Jolly – Or is It?⤒🔗

Looking at the state of affairs in the world today one can be forgiven for forgetting that this is supposed to be a season of joy. Even a casual glance at our nation of Canada from a Christian perspective cannot help but raise expressions of deep concern. The unborn die as abortions continue to be performed at an alarming rate. Marriage as a basic societal building block is in the process of being redefined by the courts and the Parliament due to unrelenting pressure from the advocates of gay rights. The relaxation of our marijuana laws is under consideration. Property crimes are skyrocketing. All in all, it begs the question: is this really a good time to rejoice?

Still, if Canadian concerns threaten to put a damper on the joy of the season, what about international events? The evening news broadcasts present us with an almost relentless stream of discouraging information. Bombings, terrorist attacks, atrocities, swindles, civil strife – the litany is never ending. Especially tragic is the fact that so much of the unrest and violence comes from that part of the world where our Saviour was born and where the Gospel was first heard.

Oh and lest we forget, what about closer to home in our own church life? This year we have witnessed an unparalleled increase of sickness in the ministerial ranks of the Canadian Reformed Churches. There is also no lack of vacant churches who find themselves in a dogged search for a pastor and teacher. And what about those church members who are discouraged because of disagreement in their ranks or a lack of growth in their numbers?

Yes, and then we have not even added personal trials and setbacks to the mix. For some of our readers, 2003 has not been a good year as sickness, family problems, unemployment, business difficulties, or other hardships have made their presence felt. When the Form for the Baptism of Infants calls this life “a vale of tears” some of us have been known to scoff and dismiss it as an expression of pessimism. Nevertheless, as we plunge deeper and deeper into this life, we begin to see the “rightness” of such a description.

Hence the question may be asked, “Is this Christmas season with its great stress on gladness, peace and mirth not out of harmony with our lives and our experiences? Is ‘joy’ not a misplaced reaction time in times such as these?”

Another Joyless Time←⤒🔗

As I pondered these questions I was led to reflect on another time and place long ago when circumstances also made a celebration of joy utterly inappropriate. Consider the days of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

At that time the people of God were reduced to a remnant. Almost all of the members of the ten tribes were nowhere to be found, having been dispersed to the four corners of the earth. What remained of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin was a rather pathetic remnant. The glory that had once been Israel’s was nowhere to be found. The royal line of David that had ruled for so many years, ruled no longer. Instead, foreigners dominated the land. The Romans were in control and they had placed an upstart called Herod on the throne.

As for the common people, they were caught in a vise. On the one side they came under pressure from their new political masters and on the other side they were under the thumb of their religious masters, the scribes and the Pharisees. Freedom was severely limited. Taxes and levies were exacted, as the publicans squeezed the population. Rules of suffocating piety were multiplied by the teachers of the law.

In short, the days of the birth of our Lord were neither nice, quaint nor romantic. They were hard, cold and depressing. They were filled with oppression, suffering and poverty. In their own way they too were inappropriate times for rejoicing.

Joy Penetrates←⤒🔗

Did any of that deter our God and heavenly Father from acting and intervening? Not at all. The New Testament opens and what greets us but repeated expressions of joy.

We see it first with an old priest called Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. While doing his duty in the temple, he is interrupted by a most unusual visitor. An angel appears on the right side of the altar of incense. Undoubtedly his eyes must have bulged and his blood pressure must have gone up a notch. Fear grips him. Nevertheless, the angel calms him with the soothing words “do not be afraid.”

Thereafter, the angel proceeds to tell him something that completely turns his world upside down. His wife, his old wife Elizabeth, is going to give him a son. The angel says that “he will be a joy and delight to you” (Luke 1:14). But that is not all for he will not be an ordinary son. No, “many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:14). Why will they do so? Because “many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16). John is going to bring great joy both to his parents and to his people.

Joy Climaxes←⤒🔗

Still, the joy does not stop with the birth of John. His birth merely starts the process and sets the stage for its continuation and climax. Again, an angel comes down from heaven to earth. Again, we would say that he goes to the wrong address. What was he doing first with an old priest and what is he doing now with a young, unmarried girl? Why target such humanly insignificant people?

Yet that is God’s way, God’s all too common way. The angel appears to Mary and announces the impending birth of another son. Only this time it will be a son unlike any other!

His name is to be Jesus and he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.Luke 1:32, 33

Mary’s life is instantly awash in glorious tidings. The announcement of her very special Son, the greatness of His Person and His reign, the involvement of the Holy Spirit, the news about her relative Elizabeth, it all floods into her life.

Yes, and something comes into as well, namely joy – incomprehensible and overwhelming joy! She cries out, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46). Mary knows that the Lord is about to visit his people as never before. Finally, the desire of the ages is coming. Finally, the ancient hopes and dreams and prayers of God’s people are coming to fulfillment. Finally, the Messiah is coming, coming in the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary!

Joy Spreads←⤒🔗

Oh, and come he does in the fullness of time. Mary and Joseph are called upon to travel together to the town of Bethlehem and there the Christ is born. Simply and succinctly, but so significantly, Luke writes, “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son” (Luke 2:7).

Thereafter the news spreads. Angels were charged with the honour of announcing his coming and angels are given the added honour of announcing his birth. To the shepherds it is told, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). This joy is meant to be spread. This joy is meant to go out to people everywhere. This joy is meant to change lives.

And it does! It impacted the shepherds in a most positive manner, for we are told that after they saw the Child, they “returned, glorifying and praising God” (Luke 2:20). It has the same effect on Simeon who later took the child “in his arms and praised God” (Luke 2:28). Anna too is caught up in the fervour for it says that “she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

Joy Takes Root←⤒🔗

It is obvious from the various gospel accounts that the coming of Christ brings a deep and abiding joy into the lives of God’s people. It did so in the days of his birth. It did so too during the days of his ministry on earth. We read, for example, about the seventy-two who returned from their mission filled “with joy” (Luke 10:17). It did so as well after the news of his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven. Indeed, joy becomes a hallmark of those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider only that most interesting case of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. We do not know a lot about this man, but we do know that he came to faith in Christ and that he was baptized into Christ (as well as into the Father and the Spirit). And one more thing is made known to us, and it is that he “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39).

Joy Forever and Always←⤒🔗

It is against the backdrop of all of this that we can also make sense of the command that the apostle Paul gives to the Philippians when he says,

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Philippians 4:4

The apostle is reminding them and us that this joy that Christ Jesus has brought into our lives is so deep, so unshakeable, and so great, that nothing can take it away from us. People, circumstances, situations, nothing can rob us of this joy. When we look to God and see all that He has done, is doing and intends still to do for us through his Son, then we have cause to give thanks. Even amidst the tears, we have reason to rejoice.

Dear reader, let nothing take that away from you. Do not let the shadows that hang over our international and national life, nor the pain that is present in your personal lives, choke out this joy that is yours in Christ.

The calendar tells us that it is time once again to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, a birth that represents the “good news of a great joy” (Luke 2:10). May that joy in Christ be yours! May it be yours in spite of your circumstances! May it be a joy rooted in his first coming and a joy that sees its consummation soon in his second coming.