When’s the last time you got excited about something? So excited that you can barely contain your enthusiasm. We all have those experiences where the excitement of the moment makes us feel as though a volcano of joy is about to erupt from within. It’s more than a good feeling; it is a great feeling. Whatever has occurred, joy is stirring within you.
After Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit, this soon to be mother went to visit another soon to be mother, her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, were much older than Mary. Elizabeth was beyond childbearing age. Yet, she was pregnant now with another promised child. Her baby boy would grow up to be the forerunner of Jesus. He would be known as John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke tells us that when Mary and Elizabeth met; the sound of Mary’s voice caused Elizabeth’s baby to leap for joy. Like any pregnant woman can tell you, she felt her baby move.
Indeed, joy should be our response to the good news of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. As the old carol reminds us, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” With the arrival of Jesus, God’s heavenly joy is poured out upon the world and into the hearts of all those who receive Him. This joy should stir our lives to praise. Our lives should bear witness to this inner joy that can only come from Jesus. While many things in the world can bring us happiness, Jesus is the only one who can bring us joy.
The joy of the Lord cannot be contained. Instead, joy should radiate from the believer’s life as a light into the darkness of a sometimes joyless world. The psalmist would proclaim, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” (Psalm 32:11) The psalmist calls us to shout for joy. But why shout? We shout with joy because the world is deaf to the joy that comes from God alone. Many people live never realizing the deep joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. As a people of faith, like John in the womb of his mother, we must leap for joy.
Christmas is a natural opportunity to leap out in joy. Christmas brings a message of love and hope that combined create an inner joy that cannot be contained but must be shared with the larger world. The birth of Jesus creates the ultimate joy. So, during the season of the year, let us take a leap in joy with this good news, so that the world around us might experience the joy of the Lord. “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” May this message stir within each of us a deeper joy.
Conversations from the Couch 