Third Sunday of Advent – December 14, 2024

We continue to hear the angels’ message from the first two chapters of Luke: “Do not be afraid!” God told the people to trust and not to be afraid throughout their history, and God continues to tell us that today. Let us learn to listen to God’s word.

Joy is something we immediately connect with smiles, friends, happiness, pleasure, fun. This Christmas, we don’t have to fake joy that we don’t feel: the good news is that we have access to joy even when we’re not feeling like Buddy the Elf. We just need to go in search of it.

This third week of Advent, we are called to explore what it looks like to practice joy when everything seems burdensome. We come together as people of God to listen to the messengers who bring good news of great joy for all the people. We gather whether we are in joy or sorrow to wait, practicing in our hearts for the joy the Christ Child brings. We rediscover joy by confessing our frailties, missteps, and sin. We know God does not condemn us to shame, but instead, rejoices with us as we make new choices.

As we continue our journey through Advent, I ask you to ponder the answer to the following question during the brief silence that follows me asking it: What’s one time you remember feeling joyful? <repeat and pause 15-30 seconds>

For me, one of the greatest joys that comes to mind is having Zak enter our family. The joy I felt was a new kind of joy. It was goodness that I’d never known before, and a bunch of intense emotions mixed together – amazement at the miracle and wonder of what the little baby was; gratitude that something so precious was ours; happiness that something that we’d wanted had actually, finally arrived.

When we receive true joy, we want to share that joy with others.  We want to tell other people about it. Joy bubbles up and wants to get out, like with a birth announcement. Birth announcements – by mail, on Facebook, or even by text 60 seconds after the birth – are an overflow of joy. When we get good news, the joy wants out!

There was a birth announcement for Jesus too, and it was also full of joy. On the night of Jesus’ birth, God sent some angels to share the joy of his son’s birth with some people nearby:

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah’” (Lk 2:8-10).

But God didn’t just announce his birth. God said that the joy was going to spread further. It wouldn’t just cause them to smile briefly… this baby was going to bring joy to ALL people. All means all – for different cultures, career paths, levels of intelligence, economic status, levels of depression and anxiety, or any kind of sin. Jesus’ birth announcement was unique because it wasn’t just for the proud Dad. The joy was for all – and that’s still true today.

And God went all out at this birth. God didn’t just send angels. God put a star in the sky! It appeared at the birth as a sign for all who were watching. Some guys noticed it and came looking for the baby it announced. When they found him, they found the joy that was promised by that angel.

In the story of these wise guys, we can see what comes first—the things we, too, can be doing if it’s joy we are looking for this Christmas. The wise men found joy in Jesus, but they did some other things first! We can do the same. And I mean, they’re wise, so that seems like a good idea.

The wise men who found the joy in Jesus did four things.

• They observed—Saw the signs and noticed when God was doing a new thing.
• They searched—Asked questions, seeking, and following.
• They valued—Took time and money to go look; brought expensive gifts.
• They worshipped—Their intent was truly from a heart to know God.

If you’re in search of joy, then you’re in search of Jesus. When the wise men found him, they exploded in joy. Their joy wasn’t from the pursuit of their own pleasure; it was from trying to find Jesus. They exerted quite a lot of effort in a search about which they weren’t sure. But when they found Jesus, they got the payoff we would all love to have—happiness, pleasure, awe (and even though the Bible doesn’t say it, I’m sure they were smiling for weeks!)

These guys found joy because they were tuned in to God and what he was doing. This third week of Advent, spend some time asking yourself these questions in search of more joy:
Are you noticing the signs in your own year? Can you see what’s shifted in your life? Do you wonder what new thing may be happening? Are you actively searching for God? Do you have a heart that wants God? Are you offering God your gifts?

If you have been devoid of the normal sources of joy in your life, there’s an overflow of it available in Jesus.

God of gladness, we celebrate the goodness of this precious Advent day. We celebrate how even in the waiting and anticipation, we know the glorious news of Christmas already. The angels have sung, the shepherds have danced, the baby has been born, yet we wait to experience the joyful birth once again. Thank you for this reminder that even when our souls are grieving, the nights are long, or we are in pain, the joy of Christmas waits for us in the background. Amen.