Joy

Joy can be a difficult subject to discuss during the period running up to Christmas.

There’s an expectation of happiness and enjoyment: as the song says, it’s “the most wonderful time of the year”, and “the hap-happiest season of all.”

But the reality can be much darker.

The reality is that one recent survey suggested that 61% of Americans experience sadness or lonliness during the holiday season. The same survey suggested that 31% - that’s almost a third - of the population would skip the holidays if they could.

In the UK, the charity Age UK found that over a million elderly people reported being more lonely at Christmas than at any over time, with around 1.4 million expecting to spend the day alone.

Meanwhile young adults - especially LGBT, Gen Z, and single adults - resported especially high levels of “winter blues”, largely linked to strained family relationships and being away from their loved ones.

And perhaps because of the expectation of a season of enjoyment and happiness, we can be tempted to ignore these issues. Or to downplay them. Or for those who are experiencing such sadness, to remain quiet about it so as to avoid “bringing down the mood.”

When I look at today’s gospel reading - the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and the prophetic words known as the magnificat - something that immediately stands out to me is that the picture of joy we see here is not one of an individual experience.

It’s communal.

Everybody in the story shares in the joy of the moment: Mary, Elizabeth, and even the child in Elizabeth’s womb.

We’re not told exactly what takes Mary to visit her cousin, but this event occurs shortly after she’s visited by the angel Gabriel and informed of both her own pregnancy and Elizabeth’s. So it seems possible that she was going both to confirm for herself the truth of the angel’s words, and for the more important reason that she wanted to celebrate with her.

Because joy demands to be shared. And both of them had much to be joyous about.

Let me say that again: joy demands to be shared.

There’s an old worship song that goes, “it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in it’s glowing.” And that illustration is perhaps appropriate here.

A spark: Mary’s Greeting.

Which is heard by Elizabeth, and the child leaps with joy in her womb.

And she is filled with the Holy Spirit and she begins to prophecy with joy.

And in response, Mary also prophecies with rejoicing!

As they share in God’s goodness together, their joy multiplies.

Maybe this is a bit obvious, but the remedy to joylessness is to share in joy.

And you might be thinking, it’s just not that simple. We can’t pull everyone out of sadness and loneliness just by visiting them.

And that’s true.

At least to an extent.

Because lonliness and strained relationships and the distance of loved ones won’t just go away.

But when we celebrate God’s goodness together, they can at least be put aside for a time.

So there’s our first challenge today: who in our lives are we overlooking, that would appreciate celebrating with us? Who can we visit, show some act of kindness and generosity and hospitality?

Who needs a reminder of - or perhaps an introduction to - the wonderful goodness of God and the good news of his coming among us which we’re preparing to celebrate in just over a week?

And now here’s the second thing: true joy points us to that good news.

Look at what Elizabeth says to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb...blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

She recognises that there is something wonderful going on here. In fact in verse 43 she recognises that Mary is pregnant and that the child is very special. And no doubt she sees a parallel here, because she too has been blessed with a miraculous pregnancy. And she rejoices that she and her cousin can share in such a experience.

And then Mary speaks. And whilst she’s speaking in the present tense, it seems clear that she is doing so in the manner of the prophets: she speaks of things that are to come, but that are so certain and so guaranteed that she speaks of them as though they are already here.

At first she speaks simply of herself: how she rejoices that God has looked kindly upon her and that by choosing her to be the mother of his Messiah He has truly shown her favour.

But then she turns to the bigger picture.

She speaks of how great and everlasting God’s mercy is.

She speaks of God’s great reversal: the scattering of the proud and the bringing down of the powerful and the sending away of the rich. The lifting up of the marginalised, and the filling of the hungry.

And she recognises the great joy that these things will bring to all of the peoples of the earth.

And that God is finally fulfilling the promise that he made to Abraham all those centuries before.

The joy that comes from God points us to the good news and in doing so it gives us a new perspective: it reminds us that it is good news not only to us as individuals but to all of the world.

And what’s the consequence of that? It’s an invitation to share that joy with the world.

And so we come full circle.

And back to the invitation to share that joy with others.

So who are we going to share it with?

Who is there in your life, that perhaps isn’t feeling the joy of the Christmas season?

Maybe it’s a family member.

Or a friend.

Or a neighbour.

Or a co-worker.

Or maybe it could be someone you’ve overlooked.

Be like Mary, and greet them.

Whether that’s a text or a phone call or even a visit.

Buy them a coffee, or bring them a meal, or invite them to church.

Be that spark. Not one that appears briefly and burns out but one that leaps like John did in the womb

And that’s not just advice for the holiday season: because whilst this might be a time that the lack of joy is most obvious, Christ is not just for Christmas. Christ came into a world that was in darkness to bring a joy that lasts eternally.

A joy that manifests as we feel his presence even in our struggles.

When we share joy, we aren’t doing so to fix loneliness and to guarantee an end to sadness. Although those things may be products of joy, they aren’t the main goal and sometimes our experience is that they remain, aching alongside the joy that nontheless we still have.

Rather, when we share joy we are sharing a preview of that ultimate joy when those things truly will end. A preview of a time of joy for all of God’s people, when Christ returns and we experience His presence directly and share in those promises made to Abraham and His descendents forever.

So let us go and share the joy that demands to be shared.