Dear friends in Christ,
One of the most uplifting, well-known and well-loved carols that will be sung in most of our Churches this Christmas Day is “Joy to the World;” but did you know that this carol, penned some three hundred years ago by the famous hymn writer Isaacs Watts, was not originally meant to be a Christmas carol? It was really one written as a poem and inspired by the Psalm 98. However, the Church has been using this carol solely at Christmas because it fittingly invites us to celebrate the gift of joy that God delivers in the world through the coming of His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and King. In sending His Son that first Christmas morn, our God provided the means for the restoration of inner joy – that lasting and satisfying state of being, stirred up within our souls and driven by our awareness of the abiding presence and love of God; a joy that was lost due to the curse of sin that brought tremendous hardship, pain and sorrow into our world. Every Christmas then is to be a celebration of joy to the world.
However, my friends, there may be some among us who may not be experiencing such joy or even happiness this Christmas, and are probably wondering how do we choose or experience the joy God desires us to have when we are faced with so many day-to-day challenges, such as being unemployed and wondering how are we going to pay our bills or meet the high cost of living. How are we to smile and be joyful when Covid-19 or Cancer is robbing us of good health or has robbed us of yet another loved one; or when gun violence has been causing us to live in fear as we walk the streets? Well, I will share with you that joy is not the same thing as happiness. Happiness depends on external factors or conditions while joy depends on the condition of our heart; and as much as all of us would wish to be always happy, it is more important for us to have the joy that only God can give and desires us to experience as we remain ever mindful of His love and compassion, His presence and availability, His promises and faithfulness that cheer our hearts. The true joy God offers only enters our hearts when we perceive, receive and respond to this nature and love of God and wholly trust in what He has done, is doing and will do for us in the future; and it is not gain from anything we or others do, as in the case of happiness. To choose joy is to choose God who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, to open ourselves to His purpose for our lives by following closely the way of life and of love revealed through the very One whose birth we celebrate today. How we choose, whether to abide with or without God in having Jesus as our companion and counsellor (today or in the year to come), will determine whether or not we have that inner joy.
On this Christmas day, we are to be moved with that great joy first experienced by Mary and Joseph, the angels and the shepherds, and the wise men who saw the star in the east, as we once again contemplate and celebrate God’s great intervention, His incarnation, to bring us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life, out of sorrow into joy. Christmas provides that time for us to especially allow the joy of knowing God’s profound love to fill our hearts this day. Let us truly celebrate.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, to repair and heal our broken lives and relationships, to offer forgiveness and direction, and to give joy unspeakable and life abundantly. May we be filled with that inner joy our God offers in Jesus His Son, and make known that joy to others now and in the coming year, as we allow Jesus to be born in us, abiding with us, our Lord, Emmanuel.
I wish you and yours joy, joy, joy, joy down in your hearts for this Christmas season and in the New Year 2023.
Your friend and bishop,
+Michael Barbados