That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” [Luke 2:7-12 (NLT)]
If we had an Advent wreath in our Florida church, yesterday we would have lit the third candle—the Shepherd’s candle—the candle of joy. While the first Christmas may have brought joy to the world, sometimes we’re hard put to find joy in our homes about now. With less than two weeks until Christmas, we may find ourselves sorely tempted to repeat Scrooge’s “Bah, humbug!”
Consider the angel’s pronouncement of joy to a group of disreputable, dirty, and smelly shepherds in a field. I don’t know much about shepherds, but I don’t think they had a lot of joy in their hard lives nor do I think their idea of a good time was visiting a baby sleeping in a feed trough. I imagine they were probably more concerned with making it through the night warm, safe and without losing any sheep than they were with the eventual arrival of the promised Messiah. Nevertheless, it was shepherds who received the good news that a child was born, and not just any child; this child was their Savior, Messiah, and Lord. It hardly seems logical that they were the first ones to hear the angel’s words. Shouldn’t this news have been given to the wealthy, powerful, or religious rather than a group of mangy shepherds in a field? Then again, everything about the Christmas story is contrary to expectation: a virgin gives birth to a king in a borrowed stable and, instead of a royal crib, the baby lies in a manger. Rather than royal courtiers, the King is surrounded by lowly shepherds and, instead of extravagant robes, He is wrapped in rags. Yet, somehow, while destined to die a criminal’s death, He brought joy to the world.
It’s not always easy to find joy and be thankful in all circumstances. Sometimes, it’s hardest to find joy and give thanks in this season that is filled with proclamations of joy and thanks. We get so wrapped up in doing and getting that we forget the purpose of our celebration. Our expectations become unrealistic and impossible to achieve and we deeply feel the loss of loved ones who no longer sit at our tables. Yet, because of Jesus’ birth, in spite of our circumstances, we can find God’s joy where we least expect it—be it in a field near Bethlehem or while laying flowers in a cemetery, whether at a hospital bedside, in a prison visiting room, at an Al-Anon meeting, or quietly sitting by a spouse who no longer recognizes us. A message of joy was given to the shepherds that first Christmas and that message holds true today.
Thank you God for the Christmas gift of joy that came wrapped up as a baby. Thank you for the ability to find joy in circumstances we’d rather not experience, the capacity to trust you when we doubt, and the strength to step out in faith rather than cower in fear. Thank you for the confidence you’ve given us with the knowledge that the story has a happy ending. Thank you for the joy that comes from knowing we are never alone; you are Immanuel—God with us! Thank you for the joy that comes from our certainty of your love for us. Thank you for the joy with which you’ve filled our lives—a joy that isn’t dependent upon our circumstance or feelings but rather on who our God is!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
[Isaac Watts, 1719]
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)]
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! [Philippians 4:4 (NLT)]
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It’s that time of year again. Signs in stores say it, holiday lights in yards and on rooftops proclaim it, and we might greet one another in church with it. We send out cards with its message, sing of it and, yet, we’re bereft of it. We think we’ll have it when our chores are done, the cards mailed, the house cleaned, the tree decorated, the lights up, the cookies baked, the gifts purchased, the packages wrapped, and the bills paid. We sure we’ll get it if we reach our destination without delay or losing luggage or once our children arrive safely home. As long as everyone stays healthy, no food gets burnt, nothing is broken, politics isn’t discussed, no one gets drunk, and the back-ordered gift arrives in time, we’re sure to have it then. Yet, even when everything goes as planned (and believe me it won’t), it seems to escape us.
As earth’s first gardener, God knew a thing or two about agriculture. Recognizing that continually working a field depletes the soil of valuable nutrients, He commanded the Israelites to let their land remain fallow every seven years. During this yearlong land Sabbath, no produce was to be planted, pruned or harvested and any food that grew by itself, such as grapes or figs, could not be harvested, sold or stored. God promised to grant an abundant crop in the sixth year so there would be plenty of food to carry the people through the Sabbath year and well into the next years until a new crop was harvested. Considered ownerless, the produce that grew by itself could be eaten by anyone or fed to the animals. The Sabbath year was a test of faith; it required the Israelites to acknowledge God as the true master of the land, to trust Him for His provision, and to share with those less fortunate.
Also, the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain. God can see what is in people’s hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants. [Romans 8:26-27 (NCV)]
As the weather up north cools, our snowbird neighbors have begun returning to their southwest Florida homes. One neighbor recently arrived from Portland, Oregon, a city that ranks third in a list of cities with the most depressing winters. Their weather forecast alternates between cloudy with rain showers to partly cloudy with a 60% chance of rain and that’s not likely to improve! Their early November temperatures will range from highs in the mid-60s to lows in the mid-40s with a UV index that never gets above a 2. On the other hand, our ten-day forecast fluctuates between sunny and mostly sunny with no more than a 10% chance of rain. Temperatures will rise to the mid-80s during the day and fall to the mid-60s at night; the UV index is 6 or 7. In short, Portland is damp, gray and dreary and we’re dry, warm and sunny (and should wear sunblock). On my neighbor’s first day back in our tropical paradise, while relaxing on her lanai with a book, she happened to fall asleep. Upon waking, hearing the mockingbird’s happy song and feeling the warm gentle breeze on her face, she had a moment of confusion and forgot where she was. Feeling incredibly peaceful, relaxed and refreshed, for a moment she actually thought she’d died and gone to heaven!
Real estate ads can be somewhat misleading. “Needs TLC” usually means structural damage; a “handy-man special” requires rehabbing and money; “waterfront” probably has a basement that floods; “cozy” means really small and “intimate” is even smaller than cozy. “Tear-down,” however, means just that; while the property may have value, the house isn’t worth renovating. In our southwest Florida community, it is not unusual to see advertisements for homes with an asking price in the seven digit territory (none of which need TLC, handymen, have flooded basements, are cozy or intimate.) Since it’s difficult to believe there’s anything needing improvement in such expensive houses, the shocker is that some of those homes are listed as tear-downs. That hefty asking price is for the privilege of tearing down the existing structure and spending several millions more to build another one in its place.
