Real Christmas Joy

What Joy?

In just 9 days time I dare say most, probably all of us here are going to sit down to a huge lunch, surrounded by friends and family. If it’s not your own extended family, then hopefully at least you’ll be at the Uniting Church who each year generously put on a lunch for those in our community.

The day is eagerly anticipated, and is filled with great happiness. We get to shower each other with gifts. Eat lollies and chocolate even before lunch starts. Then sit down for the lunch, open the bon bons with the person next to you. Put on the paper hat (which always breaks in my case because my head is usually too big), tell the jokes inside the bon bon - and then of course complain about how bad the jokes are (I mean, if the jokes inside them were any good, it just wouldn’t be right).

The day is usually complete with a swim in there somewhere because it’s so hot, and then as the afternoon wears on, you get on the reclining chair and try to ignore the children while you’ll let the food you’ve over eaten digest.

It’s pretty much the perfect day of the year!

The problem!

Now, I do genuinely love the day.

But I can’t but help think that the picture I just painted, and perhaps more so the pictures of Christmas that gloss our TV screens and other media, have somehow been over romanticized.

You see, Christmas is rightfully about joy, but Christmas joy has somehow become about the material things - sure that sort of joy has its moments, but it also has it’s share of problems as well.

Now my intention isn’t to be to become too pessimistic about Christmas - as I said, I genuinely love the day, but the type of joy that comes from material possessions can be fleeting.

Worse then that, at times it can be a very poor imitation from what joy really is.

Let’s just look at the day a bit closer.

Unfortunately, for many, Christmas day can actually be a very lonely day. If for whatever reason you can’t be with family, it can be very hard.

For those who have experienced loss, it can also be very painful as you come to the day when you’re meant to be happy but the sadness is still there.

Christmas Day can also be really tricky because of strained relationships. While we like to picture the family gatherings as happy times - and often they are, but often those disagreements can make them just not very fun at all.

Well maybe the relationships can make it tough, but surely we get joy from the presents.

Well, actually, when the focus is on the act of giving rather than the material possession, we can find this a joyous time, but when we focus on the actual gift itself, unfortunately the joy can be very fleeting.

Now, in my experience, when you look at the toys the kids get, almost inevitably, there will be at least one toy that will stop working before the sun sets on Christmas Day. But even after that, the presents will have a life span, and many will prove quite useless.

But then lets think about the food. Now I just love a good Christmas lunch, but even this, you feed yourself a bit too much and then you get that sluggish feeling and feel a bit bloated.

Is it real joy?

Now as I said, my point is not just to put a pessimistic view on Christmas. My intention is rather to show that when we talk about joy, if our focus is on the normal picture of Christmas that we get, well, the joy will at best be fleeting.

Now in the Bible Reading we just had before I started, you might recall that the angel said “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people”.

Now when it suggests, “great joy”, I’m pretty sure that the angel did not have in mind the big Christmas Day celebrations that we have.

You see, when the angel says “great joy”, he is not talking about something fleeting, but rather a deep seated joy.

It is in fact such a deep joy that even when life around you seems to be falling apart, this joy can rise up. For those of you that Christmas might be a reminder of some great sadness, this joy can stand through it.

Christmas joy

So what is this joy then about Christmas?

Well it is the joy of having God with us. It’s the joy of knowing that despite all of the hardships and struggles of this world, God has won the victory, and we can know the spoils of that victory now!

One of the passages that were read earlier from Isaiah spoke about this joy.

Having God with us truly is the greatest blessing we can know.

The passage used the phrase - “they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest”

This year, the ongoing drought in NSW has become well known and countless stories have been told of farmers who aren’t able to sow a new crop.

I suspect when those farmers read those words - rejoice…as people rejoice at the harvest, I dare say they know a little bit about the joy we are talking about.

But that passage then goes on to paint a very powerful picture, with words that have become well known.

You see, it goes on to say:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end”

You see, this true joy that we get at Christmas is based on some amazingly beautiful promises.

In this baby we get the most amazing promise. This baby represents the hope of the wor

At Christmas we reflect on a baby - which is strange in one sense because a baby seems the symbol of helplessness. But in many ways it is a wonderful thing to think about, because it flips our whole understanding of power upside down.

This promised baby is called wonderful counsellor, mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Four very powerful titles and if I was to take more time, we could explore in detail. But for now, I want you to recognise the expectation of something amazing with this baby.

You see, in this baby, we get hope - not a flimsy hope like you might have if you buy a lotto ticket, but a real hope based on real promises - and from that hope arises true joy.

A joy that knows that God’s got this one. You see God has promised us something amazing, and when God promises, we know that he will deliver.

Conclusion

My intention this morning is to show that the joy of Christmas is so much deeper than just the joy of unwrapping presents, or getting the family back together. Those things can be a whole lot of fun, but it’s not the undying joy that we so very much crave.

Rather the joy of Christmas is knowing that a much greater plan is in action. It is knowing that God has come amongst us, (he’s become one of us!), and he fulfills our every need.

Perhaps even more excitingly, he hasn’t finished yet. Though Christmas is a reminder that God has entered the world, he then died and rose again on the cross, setting the great victory that was so needed - and he has also promised that he will come back again!

Let this Christmas be a time of great joy. Sure the joys of the Christmas festivities will be fun, but I’m talking about something even greater - the joy of knowing that God is with us!

Let me pray...