“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” (Luke 2:10-11)
What brings you joy?
Turn to person next to you and see if you can answer this question:
- What brings you joy? What makes you happy?
Lots about Christmas is meant to bring us joy. Giving and receiving presents. Eating good food. Spending time with family.
True joy often comes through connecting with others: family, friends, loved ones. But increasingly, our society is becoming less good at connecting. Anger, upset or bitterness destroys relationships. We hide ourselves behind social media, only putting our best selves on display and closing ourselves off to real relationships. We become wrapped up in our own lives too anxious to truly engage with others and too keen to protect ourselves from harm. The result is that our lives, lose their joy.
Wrap up Card with ‘JOY’ on.
Joseph – Closed Off
Joseph was engaged. He was looking forward to marrying his bride, Mary. But then he discovered something shocking. Mary was pregnant and the baby was not his! What was he to do?
Rather than tackling the problem head on, Joseph wrapped up in his own thoughts and ideas, seems to come up with his own idea of how to deal with the situation. Rather than confronting Mary or find out what has really happened, he decides to act in what seemed like a righteous and kind way. He decided to divorce Mary quietly, saving her and him embarrassment. In this way he wanted to close down the issue, cut himself off from the pain and move on to continue his own life. Shut off from the joy of marriage to Mary.
Joseph – Unwrapped
But, God had other ideas.
Pull wrapping paper and Joy sign off.
God sent a messenger, an angel in a dream. He wanted to unwrap what was really going on. To unwrap the truth of what had happened to Mary. To open up the possibility of joy not just for Joseph, but for all of us. In unwrapping this truth, God also provides a way for us to be unwrapped to the possibility of real joy.
The Holy Spirit
The first thing the angel says, is that the baby is from the Holy Spirit.
Unfold left arm to reveal Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit appears right at the start of the Bible. The world is empty, chaotic and lifeless. But, the Holy Spirit hovers above the waters and God acts. From the emptiness comes everything, from the chaos comes beauty, from lifelessness life comes in abundance.
Now, the angel says, the Holy Spirit comes to make something new again. This baby was a completely new creation for our world.
When the world seems full of chaos and horror, we can be tempted to shut ourselves away, to become wrapped up in ourselves. But, when we realise God can create something new, beautiful and full of life by His Holy Spirit, then we can begin to open ourselves up to the work of his Holy Spirit. We can open ourselves up to joy.
Jesus = The Saviour
The second thing the angel says is that the baby is to be called, Jesus, which means ‘God saves’, because he will save his people from their sins.
Unfold right arm to reveal cross.
Sin is ultimately, a focus on myself above others and God. It is to disobey the great commandments to love God and neighbour. To sin is to become wrapped up in yourself. It destroys relationships and creates guilt and shame, which make us withdraw from God and others more and more. Sin can often look like a means for joy, but ultimately it cuts us off from the true source of joy.
Yet, the angel says that God in Jesus came to deal with our sin. Jesus was born not just to be a cute baby, not just to teach us God’s way of life, but by his death on the cross to condemn sin and bring us forgiveness. To free us from guilt and shame and free us to discover true joy through love of God and others.
Jesus = God with Us
The third thing we are told, is that Jesus is Immanuel or God with us.
Unfold top arm to reveal hand from above…
When we become wrapped up in ourselves we become cut off from God and others. We experience loneliness and lose joy.
In a recent survey, 33% of 16-29 year olds in Britain reported being lonely. They find it hard to reach out to others, and others are less likely to reach out to them.
But, Christmas tells us that God reaches out to us in our loneliness and estrangement from him. Jesus is God with us and God will be with us if we let him. He invites us not just to let him be with us in the ups and downs of life, but to become part of his family and find friendship and community in his church. This is the root to true joy.
Joseph finds joy in faith
So, this was the message of the angel to Joseph. It was an invitation to Joseph to unwrap himself, to open himself up to what God was doing with Mary and to become part of the plan.
But would Joseph trust or believe the angel. Would he stop being afraid of the embarrassment of marrying a woman who was pregnant with a child not his? Would he take her to be his wife and name the child Jesus as the angel said? Would he find joy in trusting the angel and doing what God said or would he remain wrapped up in himself?
Unfold bottom arm to reveal tick…
Joseph did trust and obey and found the joy not just of marrying Mary, but the honour of becoming the father of Jesus himself.
In the same way God invites all of us to stop being wrapped up in ourselves. To instead allow ourselves to be opened up to a life with God, a life freed from sin and a life made new by the Holy Spirit.
Why not open yourselves up to God more this Christmas? Let me suggest two ways you might start to do that:
Grab a Luke’s gospel off me on the way out today so you can read more about Jesus for yourself.
Join the church community by coming along in the New Year. Register now online now, to receive the church email so you can be reminded of what is coming up.
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 