LUKE 2 : 15-20

To all those who are burdened down with the sorrows of darkness, the message of Advent promises great joy. In the divine scheme of things weeping is succeeded by joy. Weeping and the cause of weeping subside. All this is comprised in the prophecies concerning the Messiah. It is characterized as “. . . good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). You cannot downplay or minimize the fact that joy is an integral part of our Christian message. You cannot truly receive this message and remain joyless. The message of Christmas reintroduces fallen humanity to joy unspeakable.

There is that surprising element of ethereal joy that keeps bubbling up. I find it incontestably true that we go down real low sometimes spiritually, emotionally and mentally but without a doubt, we always come back up. There is something about Jesus and the Jesus message that makes us smile again. The joy keeps resurfacing. Here the gospel writer Luke, simply describes it as “great joy.”

Depression tries to stay but it cannot last. Jesus, the Almighty Redeemer, always breaks the bands. The Scriptures unequivocally tell us in the prophetic writings of Isaiah – “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water . . .” (Isaiah 35:4-7). People can say what they want but this is more than ever, a religion of great joy. It forever engenders miracles and unveils the supernatural. It really makes us break out into spontaneous singing and worship.

In the celebration of Advent, the coming of our Christ into our sin-cursed, thorn-infested world, we do as the angels, we jubilantly celebrate, declaring “Glory to God in the highest . . .” (Luke 2:14). We do as the shepherds, we eagerly go seeking after Him and then praise and worship (Luke 2:20). We enthusiastically bless Him. We go caroling! We sing songs of joy and mirth. Not only do we sing but we sing in a joyful manner, ever grateful that God became flesh and dwells among us.

Because He has come, we exalt Him. We quietly reflect, but we also loudly, expressively and publicly praise Him. We seize the day and the opportunity to evangelize. Like these lowly shepherds in our passage of reflection, we receive the revelation, that Jesus came not to depress us but to elevate us, not to bind us but to liberate us, and to forever break the spell – to save us! Like the shepherds we remain so impacted by this message of the Incarnation that we return, glorifying and praising God for all the things we have heard and seen. We remain transformed and transfixed by this Religion of Great Joy!