The Serious Business of Heaven
"Behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:10 (NIV)
"Joy" has been my sacred echo over the last few months as I've worked on a series of talks for several upcoming women's events. But what is joy and how do we get it? Better yet, how can we keep it especially during the Christmas season which is often packed with our full schedules, frantic shopping, and never ending "to do" lists.
What immediately comes to your mind when you hear the phrase "good news, great joy?" Your answer quite possibly might depend on your age and stage in life. Perhaps it’s the news that your 30 year old single daughter is now engaged to be married to the man you’ve prayed for since before she was born. Maybe your recent college graduate has just landed his first real job. What about the day you yourself discovered you were pregnant with your first child? And just as importantly, how about the day your first grandchild was born? Or quite possibly the words “good news, great joy” remind you of two of the world’s most famous Christmas songs Isaac Watts Joy to the World and George Frederick Handel’s Messiah.
My mother in law remembers the joy she experienced when V-E Day and the end of World War II finally arrived. D-Day in June, 1944 assured the Allies' eventual victory in World War II, but it took another full year of fighting bloody battles before the terrible war was finally over. Mimi remembers the laughing, crying, hugging, joyous celebration that spilled into the Birmingham streets when the announcement finally came. An iconic picture taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt agrees with Mimi’s recollection. An unknown sailor is shown spontaneously kissing an unknown young nurse in Times Square. The photo shows us a “good news, great joy” occasion. Historians have said that the photo completely captured the joyous V-E Day celebrations and reflected the jubilant country’s mood: the unknown sailor represented returning troops, the nurse represented those who would welcome them home, and Times Square stood for home. The end of the bloody war was good news and our country rejoiced.
Each scenario above invites us to share in someone’s good news: the end of a long war, the marriage of a beloved daughter, the birth of a much wanted child or grandchild. But we don’t just rejoice because the news is good. Instead we rejoice because something that we longed for, hoped for, prayed for, and eagerly anticipated, finally happened. When our dream “good news” event becomes reality, the result is joy. But what if the good news event that you had hoped, dreamed and anticipated was 700 years in the making? Imagine waiting 700 years for a promise to be fulfilled. What kind of joy would that “good news” fulfillment bring?
That’s the good news that we’ll be considering over the next few weeks of Advent. Most of us are very familiar with the Christmas story found in Luke 2. In fact we are so familiar with the account, we tend to miss some of the key details that Luke provides in his carefully researched gospel narrative. In his account of our Savior’s birth, Luke records Mary and Joseph’s travel to Bethlehem; the birth of her son in a barn; and the angel’s “ good news, great joy” announcement to some surprised and frightened shepherds. But Luke’s story of “good news and great joy” actually begins long before his words recorded in Luke 2:10-11. As we prepare for Christmas, I'll be using Bible Bits to share at least five of the “good news, great joy” sacred echoes found in Luke's first two chapters. Each encounter provides practical insights into how we can increase our joy.
Tomorrow is the first day of Advent. I encourage you to read the first two chapters of Luke's gospel and look for all of the good news, great joy encounters found there.
"Joy is the serious business of heaven." C.S. Lewis
Good news; great joy!