Advent: Joy
The third week of the Advent season has the theme of Joy. Sometimes the candle that is lit on this week is called the shepherd’s candle. That is because joy is mentioned in the call to the shepherds in Luke’s gospel:
Luke 2:8-12
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Why isn’t this called the candle of happiness? What if the bible passage had said the good news would cause great happiness for all the people?
Think back to the last commercials you saw, whether on television or some other medium. You probably don’t have to think back too far, as we are inundated with ads from so may sources these days. What do nearly all commercials promise? You guessed it: happiness.
Drink this soda. Look how happy the people who drink it are.
Play with this toy, it will make you happy.
Take this medicine. A happier life awaits you.
Get this insurance. You will be happier when you have it.
I could go on but you get the point. Now let me ask you this: Do commercials promise joy?
What is the real difference between these things? Are happiness and joy the same thing? Maybe we can best answer that by finding out out how we become happy. What is it that causes happiness for us? When you think about it you might come to the conclusion (as I did) that most of the things that can make us happy come from external influences.
Maybe you got a raise or a promotion at work. Maybe you got a good grade on a test. What if your favorite football team wins a game? Or maybe you get good news from the doctor. All of these things make us happy, and they all happen because of outside events.
What does Christmas have to tell us about happiness? There is an expectation that we should be happy at Christmas isn’t there? But if happiness is determined largely by external events then you don’t have a huge amount of control over that, do you?
Joy, on the other hand, is more internal. It is something within you that can’t be taken away by external things. Joy is what Jesus leaves with his disciples:
John 15:9-13
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
The disciples were not given or promised happiness. They were given joy. Joy withstands the rigors of outside influences. Joy is also contagious. You could say that kindness is an expression of the joy you have. And people often respond to kindness with kindness of their own. A study at UCLA involved 8000 people in 15 experiments designed to test this very thing. Half of the people watched a video of a man helping others throughout his day. The other half watched a video of someone performing athletic stunts. The people who participated received five dollars as payment for watching the videos, and they were also encouraged to make a donation to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. People who viewed the kindness video gave 25% more to the charity than those that didn’t.
Kindness comes from joy, and kindness is contagious. Let us all celebrate the gift of joy this Christmas.
God Bless