An advent of joy for today
Zephaniah 3:14-17, Luke 2:4-11
INTRODUCTION
Christmas is coming and the message from the high street is clear: jingle tills, jingle tills, jingle all the way. For us, it is more than this. For us, Christmas is an advent of joy… Joy to the world… the Lord has come. The Lord has come in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is an advent of joy and it begins with…
JOY IN GOD THE FATHER
If we were made to enjoy God as the catechism says; and if we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord always as Philippians says; and if angels talked about great joy for all people; is it not reasonable to suggest that God himself is full of joy? Isaiah 65:18-19 affirms this when it says, “I will create Jerusalem to be a joy, and its people to be a delight. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people.” This is joy in God the Father!
This joy comes out further in Zephaniah 3:17 when it says, “The Lord your God is with you. He will rejoice over you with gladness… He will exult over you with shouts of joy.”
There are four words for joy in this verse. The first is rejoice. This means to radiate joy from within. The second word is gladness. This is often seen in the context of festivity and celebration. The third word is exult meaning to be excited to the point of levity. This comes from a root meaning to circle around in a dance. According to one translation, it is an enthusiastic expression of joy. The fourth word is translated shouts of joy. This is a ringing cry. These four words combine to tell us that God is full of joy, he expresses this joy, and he shares this joy with us. The CEV says, The Lord your God celebrates and sings because of you… he celebrates over you with shouts of joy.” It is like a parent rejoicing at the birth, the early life, and the growth of a child. This brings great joy for God and for us.
We see God’s joy in the birth of Christ and his subsequent life. When he was on earth, God said about Jesus, “This is my son in whom I delight.” Zephaniah 3:17 says he does the same over us: “He rejoices over us with gladness… He exults over us with shouts of joy.” We should respond with joy. Zephaniah 3:14 says, “Sing for joy… shout aloud… Be glad and rejoice with all your heart.” Rejoice in an advent of joy in God our Father, and then rejoice in…
JOY IN GOD THE SON
In Isaiah 42:1 God said, “Here is my servant… my chosen one in whom I delight.” God said the same at the birth of Jesus, at his baptism, before his public ministry, and on the mount of transfiguration. 2 Peter 1:17 reflects on the transfiguration when it says, “A voice came from the Majestic Glory saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I take delight. This is an advent of joy in God the Son.
1 Timothy 1:11 takes this further when it talks about, “The glorious gospel of the blessed God.” Glorious is honour, praise, and celebration. The gospel is good news. To be blessed is to be deeply contented in one’s spirit. We can now translate this as a celebration of the good news of Jesus from a joyful God.
When we are depressed, we may take a tonic, some comfort food, or some light entertainment. At this—the darkest time of the year, we need a tonic… we need a party… we need Christmas… we need to be filled with joy in God’s Son. This should lighten us up as we hear the voice of God in Jesus, as we see the smile of God in Jesus, and as we accept the joy of God in Jesus.
We are encouraged to do this in John 15:11 when Jesus said, “I have spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” Jesus also said in John 17:13, “I have come… so that you might have the full measure of my joy in you.” In Luke 2:8-11 we read about shepherds living out in the fields (not a pleasant situation). Here they kept watch over their flocks at night. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of God shone around them, and they were terrified (they were not happy). The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy for all the people… a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds went back to work, but now things would be different. Luke 2:20 says, “They returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” This can be our testimony too, and it leads to a further point…
JOY IN GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
Galatians 5:22 says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. These are all advent themes, and for us today it is an advent of joy in God’s Spirit. Luke 10:21 says Jesus was full of joy in the Holy Spirit. This expression suggests bodily movement and verbal expression. The same idea is in Acts 2:26 when Peter said, “My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also lives in hope.” Using the same expression, Elizabeth said to Mary in Luke 1:44, “When the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” This is joy in the Holy Spirit.
This is not the same as pleasure. Pleasure is related to the five senses and is temporary. Happiness lasts longer than pleasure, but it depends on our circumstances. Nobody is happy about pain. When we lose a loved-one, we are sad. In contrast to pleasure and happiness, joy is not governed by our senses or our circumstances. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and is therefore constant. Jesus found no pleasure in the cross; Jesus was not happy on the cross; but for the joy set before him, he endured the pain. We do not always have pleasure, and we cannot be happy all the time, but we can have joy in the Holy Spirit. This goes beyond happiness and pleasure to sustained joy in the Holy Spirit.
This joy in the Spirit finds its fulfilment not so much in the First Advent, but in the Second Advent. Revelation 21:3-5 says then the God of joy will wipe all tears from our eyes, and there will be no more death; no more suffering; no more crying; no more pain. The things of the past will be gone forever. Everything will be brand new. This is joy in God the Father, joy in God the Son, and joy in God the Holy Spirit.
Bernard Cartledge