First Christian Church

“I’ve got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart….” So goes the camp song.

And, so goes the third Sunday of Advent.  Traditionally, it is known as “Gaudate” Sunday – Latin for “Rejoice!”  One of the church’s readings for the day is Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”

The color of the Advent season is either purple (to represent penitence) or royal blue (to remind us of Christ being born as our King).  On the third Sunday of Advent, a rose candle is lit.  It represents a lighten-ing of our burdens, a lessening in the darkness around us, a brightening reminder in the midst of somber reflections that we do indeed REJOICE for Christ is coming!

This morning I shared the Christmas story with our Preschool students.  They gathered in wide-eyed wonder around a wooden manger where a baby doll lay wrapped in swaddling clothes.  After telling the story of Jesus’ birth, from Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and the angels singing to the shepherds, to the kings from the east showing up bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the children had a chance to act out the nativity scene.  Each class took turns dressing in costumes as a pint-sized Mary and Joseph watched over the baby, a 3-year old angel held her star up high, and shepherds in bathrobes herded sheep with cotton-ball ears.

In the children’s eyes, there was true wonder.  For that brief moment, the baby in the manger was not a plastic doll – it really was Jesus.  What JOY filled their faces as they sang together “Away in a Manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.”

To see Christmas through the eyes of a child is indeed to be filled with joy….  Whether it’s wonder at seeing baby Jesus, the amazement of pretty lights on a Christmas tree, or the excitement of anticipating Santa’s arrival and gifts on Christmas morning.  For adults, Christmas is also a time of wonder and joy…. But not always….

For some families, Christmas is a difficult time.  It may be because of a financial struggle or illness, perhaps “Daddy” is off overseas or this may be the first year that Grandma won’t be around to bake her famous dessert that no one else can quite match.  I spoke with Verla Miller today; she’s the pastor at First Christian Church in Salida, Colorado.  Her family suffered a tragic loss this year.  We spoke of how she is coping, her gratitude for the support of the church, the blessing of work to occupy her mind, her ongoing concerns for her family on the long road of healing.  When there is a “hole in your heart” left by the death of a loved one, it is often felt acutely at times like Christmas – when all the rest of the world seems so happy and light.

Gaudate Sunday comes to remind us that there is deep joy even in the midst of suffering.  Our joy in Christ is not yet complete, but we can glimpse the hope of what is yet to be.

A Catholic author writes online:  The paradox of 'rejoicing in the Lord' during this Advent season is that God's love is with us but injustices, sicknesses, wars, and poverty are with us, too. God's presence is the source of our joy, but the continuing reality of human suffering means our joy is not yet complete.

Rejoice we do.  Not because Christmas is pretty, or festive, or happy.  Rather, we rejoice deep inside in the promise of God’s love made flesh in the birth of the One who would suffer and die for our sakes – and then be raised to LIFE so that we might LIVE!  It’s okay if you don’t “feel happy” at Christmas….  Yet I pray that you will, in some way, know the JOY of being truly, deeply loved by God – the one who made you, who holds you in nail-scarred hands.  Whatever burdens life may bring, know that YOU are loved by the Creator of the Universe.

May our joy one day be complete.