As humans we are very prone to succumbing to everyday stress and anxiety. Did I do okay on that last test? Does my hair look good today? How am I going to pay all of my bills? These everyday things stress us out so much that we don’t feel like we have a single moment to ourselves, never mind time to spend with God every day.
We probably use the word “joy” more times during this season than any other time of the year. We are all probably feeling a little more joyful, with having days off from work and school, seeing family for the holidays, and enjoying all of the delicious food that goes along with Christmas. There are still some “worriers and fretters” that dread holidays because they feel obligated to put on the best dinner, or be the best host or hostess, or maybe there is family friction they wish to avoid. For the most part though, the word during the Christmas season is “joy”.
But what is joy, and why do we have it at this time of year? I know that personally, I should take time everyday to praise God for something He has given me and be joyful about it. The Lord finds joy in each and every one of us every day, so I’m sure that we could all take a moment a day to express our joy for Him. And is it joy for the right reasons? And do we really feel joy?
Joy is not an absence of fear—although that’s a part of it. As one of today’s readings proclaims, “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.” If we have nothing further to fear, then we should have all the time in the world to spend praising God.
Joy is an emotion of great happiness. We can experience happiness for many reasons – a commitment to another in a relationship, a promotion at work, a significant accomplishment by a loved one, or the birth (or birthday) of a child (or grandchild, as happened in our household a couple of days ago!). But these events can and do happen throughout the year. They are not the “joy of the season” that is upon us.
But WHY should we feel joy at Christmas? We have this event in which we believe the Son of God is born as a human being in our midst. Our God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, the God of the prophets, the one, true God, sent His Son to be one of us, to be human, to experience what we experience, to live as we live, and to die as we die. What does it say of the love God must have for each one of us that God would send His Son to live this life of ours and to give it up so freely for our salvation? How can we doubt God’s love once we understand this priceless gift?
But knowing is not the same as feeling. We might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but how does that make us feel? Do we really feel joy at this time of year, the joy of knowing that God is in our midst? Or are we so distracted by the trappings of celebration, by the bustling of buying, by the hurrying about to get to this or that event, to shut down business activity for year end, to balance the books, to make year-end resolutions for next year, to relax with family and friends, that we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to feel the wonder, the awe, the incredible joy of knowing that this baby, Jesus, is the most unique baby in the history of humankind, because this baby, Jesus, is the Son of God. That this baby, Jesus, IS “God with us”.
Our challenge this season, then, is to go off by ourselves for a small piece of time to reflect on the awe of God in our midst in the form of the baby Jesus. My hope is that by being separate for a time from all that makes this season so special for us as humans, I can feel the divine in my life that is the baby Jesus.
And so my prayer today is for the grace to look beyond the pleasant distractions of this season of celebration, however wonderful they are, so I can feel the true joy of knowing that Jesus has come into the world for me.
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