J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“Joy for You and Me ”
From the Series "How Great Our Joy"
Scripture: Luke 2:8-12
December 24, 2007
I understand that in Idaho, there is a small town that requires its citizens always to appear happy when out in public places. The place, in case you want to think about moving there, is Rexburg, Idaho, and in their city statutes is an ordinance prohibiting residents from walking down Rexburg streets looking gloomy or forlorn.
Every ordinance tells a story, and my guess is that Idaho weather being like it is, at some point the city fathers decided to take matters into their own hands and legislate its citizens to be joyful, or at least to “appear” to be joyful.
But can you legislate joy any more than you can legislate morality? I think not; joy is more of a gift, a blessing that comes not just “to” us but comes “over” us whenever we sense that God is in our midst. You can’t fake joy. You can’t appear to be joyful. But you can be called to joy, much in the same way the town fathers of Rexburg tried to call their constituents to a better and brighter life.
I say that on the basis of the Christmas story from Luke’s gospel. Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus focuses on how the good news of Jesus’ birth came to the shepherds, who were considered practitioners of a simple profession in the ancient world. In terms of prestige, the shepherds ranked on the lower end of the scale. They were the last people you would have thought would have been on the receiving end of the angel’s message. But it wasn’t to the King that the message was directed. It wasn’t to the priests or the merchants of the city that the angel appeared to. It was the shepherds who were called to Christmas joy: “Fear not. I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
If the angel could call the shepherds to joy, then there’s no reason why you and I can’t be called in the same way. The Christmas message is glad tidings of great joy that is intended for “all people.” There is no person or group of persons who are required to stand outside of God’s Presence or be removed from His blessing. Jesus was born for all men and women. His joy was meant for the world.
I remember when our daughter was getting married, which isn’t that hard considering that it was just last year. There were so many decisions to make, and believe it or not, the hardest decision was, “Who are we going to invite?” Of course, we ended up inviting everybody, but only because we managed that event, with Judy’s hard work. Without chasing a reindeer too much, weddings have gotten out of hand and 99.99% of the families paying the bill get overextended calling people to share their joy. So, they have to make hard decisions about whom to invite, and some people inevitably get left out in the process.
The presence of the shepherds in the Christmas story is God’s confirmation that no one is beyond the pale of God’s salvation. God’s grace is inexhaustible and His mercy is capable of meeting needs in every person’s life. Whereas you and I have to make tough calls and hard decisions, God has enough to cover all that is necessary for our salvation, and He has extended it gladly in the gift of Jesus so that we might share in His indescribable joy.
Let’s think about this glorious truth in yet another way, and for this illustration I am indebted to Marvin McMickle, Christian author and pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church, in Cleveland, Ohio. In one of his sermons, “The Greatest Gift Ever Given,” pastor McMickle reflects upon the Christmas story in this way:
Imagine that this Christmas you pay for all your gifts and other holiday expenses with a credit card. (Not so hard to imagine, is it?) Now imagine that you have maxed out that card so that you can’t charge another item to it.
One day the bill comes in the mail, telling you how much you owe and what your minimum payment must be. But there’s only one problem – you don’t have the money to pay the bill. (Not hard to imagine either, is it?)
What do you think would happen next? I tell you what would happen. You’d start getting letters and phone calls demanding payment; but you have no money. Then the credit card would get cancelled and your credit report would get dinged. But when you don’t have any more money, does any of it really matter? You made the charges, and you’re left to deal with the debt.
But now suppose that you receive a letter from the credit card company telling you that someone else has paid your debt in full. The charges weren’t theirs; they didn’t run up any of the debt. But they paid the bill. They satisfied the debt.
You don’t have to pay them back. After all, there’s no way that you’d be able to pay them back. Remember – you have nothing.
But it doesn’t matter. Their joy was in making life better for you by taking the burden of your debt and making it go away.
What a wonderful gift and what a generous gesture!
Now, you understand the real significance of Jesus’ birth. It’s not just a story about a baby born to a young couple down on their luck and far removed from home. It’s not just about the young mother having to give birth in an animal stall, there being no room for them in the local inn.
The real significance of Jesus’ birth is about how God has provided through that baby a means to our salvation and how our sins are forgiven through our acceptance of what Jesus came into this world to do – to die for our sins and to be raised for our restoration.
The shepherds to whom the angel spoke didn’t have a leg to stand on any way you look at it. And yet they were called to God’s joy as a way of saying the grace that God has is a grace that is extended to all. It is a grace that is extended even to you – no matter who you are, no matter how little you have, no matter how much you have done. Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
You are being called to God’s joy this night. For that matter, so is everyone.
So what do you bring? Bring your sin. Bring your shame. Bring your broken heart and your crushed dreams.
God has more than enough to handle your hurt and your heartache. Bring Him your burden, and on this Christmas Eve, receive Jesus, and in so doing, find your joy.