Holy, Powerful, Savior God: We praise you for though we doubt and become depressed, you are faithful, though we forget your mercies past, you never cease to show us mercy. Though we often lack the joy of your presence, you are always present to bring us joy. In Jesus Name, We Pray, Amen.

One unfortunate result of growing old and having many responsibilities is that it can rob us of the joy of Christmas. When we were young, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day were filled with a kind of magical anticipation. My brother and I looked forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We wrote letters to Santa Claus. We went shopping with Mom and Dad. We helped decorate the house and the church. We were filled with the joy of anticipation as we knew Christmas was right around the corner.

            Every Home Improvement Project I’ve ever undertaken has a similar character: at the beginning, it seems impossible. Then, you begin to sense progress. From there on, the project picks up steam, and you don’t feel so hopeless. There is a growing sense of joy. The Gospels tell us the story of God’s World Improvement Project – the coming of the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ. In this meditation, I want to talk about the growing senser of joy, a moment of joy near the beginning of the project, the moment when Mary and Elizabeth were captured by the Holy Spirit and anticipated the happy end—and how that growing sense of joy can be ours.

            In Luke 1:39-55, the writer tells the story of a hurried trip that Mary made to visit with her cousin Elizabeth during her pregnancy. It goes like this:

 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Joy is a Major Theme of Scripture

Some years ago, I started coloring in orange whenever the words “joy” or “rejoice” appeared in Scripture. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had overlooked a major theme in scripture. The theme of joy and the joy that God’s presence brings to our lives recurs throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Last week, I mentioned that the peace God offers isn’t the kind secular society often expects. Similarly, the joy that God provides isn’t just the kind of happiness that comes from being successful in life. The joy discussed in the scriptures is the joy of the Lord.

Joy in the scriptures connotes more than a mere emotion. It combines a sense of happiness with a state of blessedness. In the Old Testament, joy is the characteristic of public excitement at times of festival (Deut. 12:6ff.), which is similar to what we refer to as the joy of Christmas. It is also a word used to express relief when an individual had a grievance which he could bring to the Temple for settlement or when Israel is victorious over its enemies (Ps. 43: 4). This too is a kind of earthly pragmatic joy.

Joy is a prominent element in Luke’s gospel (2: 10; 19: 37). In Luke’s gospel, angels visit shepherds with a message of joy:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:8-14, emphasis added).

The birth of the Messiah was the occasion of great joy and the announcement of a great joy that would change the world. The Messiah Israel had expected and prayed for for a millennium had finally been born.

There are several places in Scripture where the characteristic of joy is ascribed to Christ. Jesus is the shepherd who “rejoices” at finding one lost and straying sheep (Matthew 18:13). Jesus is filled with joy when the disciples return from their test mission to share the gospel without Jesus present. Luke records that,

“In that same hour he [Jesus] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Luke 10:21, emphasis added).

In Hebrews, we learn that it was for “the joy that was set before him” that Jesus could endure the cross—a joy that we should have when we face difficulties:

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3, emphasis added).

Paul teaches that joy should be the natural fruit of the presence of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit when he lists joy as a fruit of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25, emphasis added).

This leads to a hard teaching about the kind of joy that Christians can expect: It is not necessarily a joy that eliminates suffering. Instead, it is an anticipated joy that endures suffering with an expectation of its redemption by God. Living by the Spirit did not eliminate the cross from Jesus’ life and experience. Living by the Spirit will not have a different impact on our lives either.

Joy in Uncertain Times

When Mary was filled with joy at the announcement of Elizabeth’s blessing for her child, she was in a period of uncertainty. It’s been my guess over the years that one of the reasons Mary went to visit. Elizabeth had to do with the wagging tongues of Nazareth. She was pregnant without a full completion of her marriage. Beyond that, she probably had plenty to worry about. We know that Joseph was pondering whether or not he should divorce her or put her aside because of her pregnancy. We also know that she was living in an occupied country with plenty of political instability. In the midst of all that uncertainty, she was filled with joy at the promises of God—and specifically the promise that the promises of God to her country were going to be fulfilled in her.

What we today call the “Magnificat” is filled with anticipation that God’s promises will be met. Those who have abused their power will be cast down. Those who have been trampled underfoot will be lifted up. Those who have been poor will find their needs met. Sometimes scholars call this the “Great Reversal.” Maybe it’s better to think of it as the Great Consequence of God’s Mighty Acts in history. God is in the business of bringing justice into the world.

We live in uncertain times. From 1900 to the 21^st century, Americans lived through an era of unprecedented economic growth. The United States also became the world’s leading power and largest economy. We’ve all enjoyed the results. Because of the great oceans on either side of our continent, there was little chance of an enemy invading successfully. After the scourge of the Civil War and the end of slavery, America became a great industrial power. By World War I, we were potentially the most powerful nation on earth, and by the end of World War II, we were.

However, history progresses, and times are changing. The modern world we were all born into and have lived most of our lives in is coming to an end, and a new chapter of human history is beginning—one we often call “postmodernity.” I don’t believe that’s the right term, because it simply means after modernity. Without assigning a specific name, I hope this period will be one in which the human race rediscovers ancient truths and the eternal need for humility and recognition of our human limits.

Perhaps even more disturbingly, the American Century (20^th), and there is every sign that the United States has both reached a limit and lost confidence in its unique place in history. Being the world’s greatest power is not unique—a lot of nations have held that honor and lost it, most recently Great Britain. No nation gets to be top dog forever.

The result is change and uncertain times—uncertain times that will certainly last for a long time to come. If we are going to find true joy, we cannot find it in creating or trying to create a world without uncertainty. We must find our joy within a world of uncertainty.

Welcoming Christ and Christmas with Joy

In the meantime, it’s the Christmas season. It’s a season in which we anticipate that great joy of which the angels spoke. We even experience some of that great joy if we join with all of those who are celebrating the mysterious birth of Israel’s Messiah and the beginning of the new age of Christ. We can invite our neighbors to experience just a little bit of that joy.

I live in a fairly secular part of town. Most of my shopping is at stores that my neighbors frequent. Fewer than half of them ever go to a church service, and many don’t believe in God. But I see smiling faces in the checkout lines, as if the joy of Christmas can reach even the coldest human heart. That’s worth remembering. We can share our source of joy as we join in the happiness of our friends, coworkers, and neighbors, without insisting they think or believe as we do before we share the joy they already know and understand at this stage in their lives.

Sharing Christmas joy with others is not the ultimate or even the most important part of the season for Christians. Here, we celebrate the coming into the world of the source of all joy, and even a special kind of joy to be shared by his followers. In retirement, I do not miss spending Christmas Eve conducting three or more services from late afternoon until 1:00 am the next day. Still, I vividly remember singing “Silent Night” at midnight and experiencing just a bit of the joy the angels announced in that first Christmas Carol ever sung.

Copyright 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved