Advent Sunday - Joy
“Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.
The Lord is near.”
Whenever this meme pops up in my social media feeds, I can’t help but giggle. For some of us, this picture expresses what we feel when we are a mere week away from Christmas Day. Not to mention the speed at which the holiday season chugs along is enough to make us want to sit down and have a good cry.
WHEN WILL THINGS SLOW DOWN?
The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday in the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches, and other mainline Protestant churches. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December.
The term is derived from the Latin opening words of the Introit at Mass that begins “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete” meaning “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice.” This week, the color of the candle is different—it’s pink. Otherwise known as the Shepherd Candle, this candle reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival and through the salvation He gives us.
How do you define joy?
Merriam Webster defines joy as a 1) noun; the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires, and as a 2) intransitive verb; to experience great pleasure or delight (eg, rejoice).
The biblical definition of joy goes far beyond momentary happiness. It is an extreme happiness undeterred by present circumstances. It is an eager anticipation about wonderful things to come. The shepherds experienced this as they traveled to Bethlehem to see Jesus.
With the definition of joy established, let’s dive into what Scripture says about joy:
God fills us with joy (Romans 15:13). We cannot will ourselves to experience joy. It comes from God alone.
It’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We experience more joy when we spend time with God. We have to keep in mind that joy only comes from God, but when we spend more time with him, we allow him to fill us with it.
No one can take joy from us (John 16:22). Given to us by God himself, no one has the ability to rob us of our joy. No matter what circumstances we encounter, no one can take this away.
Joy rests in things from God such as salvation and righteousness (Psalm 51:12).
Depending on the translation, joy appears more than 100 times in the Bible.
While we wait for the celebration of Christ’s birth, we don’t have to despair. God has given us a joy no one can take away. No matter what happens in this dark world, we can experience light. We experience difficulties differently than the world. We have light even in the darkest moments.
Joy is essential to our faith experience. We cannot get far without it, and we need it as we, like the shepherds, anticipate the coming of our Savior. Let’s light a pink candle and remember the promise of heartfelt joy in the Lord.
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ” - John 14:27 (NASB)