Today we have lit the third candle,
the pink candle, of the Advent wreath, the candle which represents Joy. In two
weeks “Joy to the World” will be sung by this congregation and by millions
around the world. . But what is joy? And
where can the joy of Christmas be seen, found, and experienced?
Is the joy of Christmas to be found in
the sugar-high of shopping, the last minute frenzy of party and dinner
organizing, the long, snaking
lines to sit on Santa’s lap, the clogged parking lots, and boxing day blowouts?
Most people have a solid answer to that question. Holiday stress has become an
increasingly present reality for many in this part of the world—financial
strain, high expectations, disappointment, loneliness. These experiences are,
for many, part and parcel of the Christmas experience—pun intended. It’s no
coincidence that the police find it necessary to step up drinking and driving
patrol. Yes, people get drunk when
they’re happy, but surely, more than a few will turn to the bottle as a means of escape from the pressure and pains of the “holiday
season.”
“So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another
Year Over and another just begun.” These words begin John Lennon’s
famous Christmas ballad, often heard through the mall speakers between rounds
of “Jingle Bells” and “here Comes
Santa Claus.” It’s out of place,
really, though, because unlike many Christmas songs, it alludes to, and alerts
us to a reality not often acknowledged in the fun-filled lyrics of much
Christmas music. It acknowledges that yes,
another Christmas is here, and it will soon pass--that the world will go on, go
on with its pain and problems. December 25th does not bring reprieve for the
millions around the world caught in the grip of war and poverty. Indeed many
people will not be happy this Christmas, many do not live in a “marshmellow
world.”, many must endure present pain and relive past grief brought to the
surface by the very holiday itself.
“Why
are you saying this, pastor? “ Some might ask “Why are you throwing a damper on Christmas? Can’t you give a
cheerful happy message? Seems like you talk an awful lot about the downers of
Christmas! ”
The simple answer to that is,
this is the world we live in — a world where happiness can too often be elusive,
even when we are bombarded with the message that we are supposed to be happy. Why is that the case? Why can happiness be so elusive, even
during Christmas? Well, happiness is elusive because it depends on external
circumstances. The root word of happiness is “happ,” and you have heard that in another word --
“happenstance”, which means “coincidence”. Happiness is therefore a feeling of
well being based on events—things that happen to us. BC Lions fans were very
happy when their team won the Grey Cup; Canucks Fans were not so happy last
Spring.
People are happy at Christmas time for a number of reasons. Receiving
and giving gifts is a huge one. A few days off is another. So is time spent
together with friends and family.
The
problem with happiness is an obvious one. What
happens if the external circumstances are not good? Or something happens to
change things in a negative direction? Well under those circumstances, the
happiness can diminish or disappear altogether. And unfortunately, in a
commercial culture, Christmas has been presented and marketed in such a way
that prescribes what ought to make us
happy. These messages come at us
hard from television, and from radio in endless rounds of commercials. They are
imbedded in film, certainly in much secular-based Christmas music. Fad toys and fights over them are a sad
symptom of the consumerism which
grips the holiday. There is indeed a dark side to Christmas which the church must speak out against,
and that is greed shown in unrestrained consumerism. Christmas Greed is sinful,
and Christians must not be afraid to saying that.
Pastor you are starting to sound a bit like scrooge! I plead guilty. But there is a Grinch out there—a true
Grinch. And what that Grinch has done has stolen something from people—and that is the true meaning and joy of Christmas.
The Grinch has taken the Peace of Christmas and substituted it with a
calorie filled, sugar coated, candy cane, which may taste good for a while. But
when you get to the bottom of it, its gone and nothing remains—except a big
credit card bill, and a hangover from the sugar high. That’s
not good news.
The
good news is that the true meaning of Christmas can be seen,
and true joy can be found.
Joy
is different from happiness—happiness with its dependency on external
circumstances. Joy, by contrast, does not depend on circumstances. Joy is rather,
a state of being, which exists despite
circumstances. Joy comes directly from the heart of God, which is unchanging.
The
message of Christmas is that the very
embodiment of joy arrived to the world in the person of Jesus. The very
embodiment, the incarnation of joy,
was born in that quiet, humble, manger over two thousand years ago. There was
no fanfare, no parades, no big sales, or extravaganzas in or leading up to that
moment. The nativity scenes many
people set up in their homes communicates this idea—the quiet serene arrival of
joy into the world, to a people whose hearts ached for comfort.
Joy came into the world as a little light that shone in the darkness-- as
the light whicht pushed back the darkness. That’s the joy of Christmas. It’s
not that the darkness disappears. We all live with the darkness in the background. Some live in
the heart of the darkness. But true joy is knowing that God’s light of eternal
promise shines into it—that the source of true and lasting joy shines into it,
that the light of resurrection dawn shines into it, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
The light that came into
the world two thousand years ago is the light of God’s promise for a New
Creation, where there will be no more war, or exploitation, or poverty. Indeed
there will be no more darkness at all.
This is the resurrection promise which we celebrate at Easter, but also burns
in our modest Advent candles.
It
does us well to actually mediate on and contemplate the Christmas Hymns we sing
every year. . What are they saying? What
are they really saying? Compare
and contrast them to secular Christmas music. Do so, and you will notice a
startlingly different theology—a totally different message. What is celebrated
in those hymns isn’t good time cheer, but foundational joy—foundational joy
gifted to us, foundational joy which can not or ever be taken away from us. It is that joy that even a person who is
physically dying, in the end stages of life, can experience. It is the joy in
knowing the love of God, which has come to us in Jesus. This is the good news of Christmas.
It is time for Christians everywhere to share the real meaning of
Christmas. That might sound like a strange observation. Don’t people just know this? You might ask. No. No they don’t. The conditional, ‘if you are good then you will
be rewarded” theology of the red coated elf who comes down the chimney is well
known. The theology of grace, the unconditional love of God come into the world
through Jesus is far less well known.
Yet it was the “Good News” theology of Jesus Christ, which inspired St
Nicholas, the real Santa Claus, to give to needy children way back in the 3rd century. It was a time of great difficulty for
the Christian Church, which was heavily persecuted under the Roman Emperor. In
those dark days the gifts of St Nicholas represented the ultimate gift of
Christ coming into a dark and painful world.
If this Christmas is a happy time for you, count that as a
blessing. But if it is not, keep the true meaning of Christmas front and
centre, receive the gift which God has placed before you—and it’s not a new
toaster. It’s the joy of knowing that you have a Saviour—a Saviour who has
brought good new to the oppressed, who has bound up the brokenhearted,
proclaimed liberty to the captives, released the prisoners, comforts all who
mourn, who has given garland instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning, a
mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. This Saviour will raise up ancient
ruins. God has made a New Covenant
Through this Saviour.
We are in the third week of Advent, and we are surrounded by all which
has come to define the holiday season. But we are also surrounded by signs of God’s in-breaking kingdom.
We see people giving, not to get, but out of love. We see people testifying to
the joy of Christ in the hearts through actions of love.
There
is much talk this time of year about the “Spirit of Christmas.” This is the
explanation secular society has developed to push a more uncomfortable truth to
the side--and that is that Jesus Christ
is doing something in the world, that the Holy Spirit sent by the Father
and Son, is doing something. God is moving in the hearts of people. They may
not know it. They may not know why, and from where this spiritual joy comes-- joy, not
momentary happiness .They need to know—need to know that all of the generosity
that we see, all of the incredible acts of charity we see this time of year come
from one place, one person--and that person is he who gives light to the world.
When people speak about “finding Jesus” it sometimes gives the impression that
he is hiding somewhere. But the work of Jesus Christ, the person of Jesus
Christ, is plainly visible, visible in the small, easily overlooked light which
shines in the darkness. May the peace, and indescribable joy of Christ shine in
your hearts, and be a lamp to your feet this season and beyond. Amen.
