JOY

‘Tis the Seasons, right?
I mean, this is the time when everyone is supposed to feel all holiday and sentimental. Where generosity is supposed to trump greed. Where being full is supposed to be accompanied by being fulfilled.

But I would argue that for many, this season reveals our lack. That even in the display of multi-covered Christmas light shows (and there are many on the Eastside, ranging from sublime to spectacle) we sense a longing. That even finishing our Christmas shopping list early leaves us yearning. Many of us feel our pain slightly more around Christmas…I’m talking about relational pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. I’m speaking of the pain that centers around dreams unmet in a fallen world, not the pain of dropping a frozen turkey on your foot (although if you google this, you’ll find that there are many suffering with that pain as well).

Here, recognizing the limits of yuletide cheer, is where I believe Christmas becomes magic.

When we invite Jesus to be born, even here. When we prepare Him room, even here. In the midst of our pain. In the center of our lack. In the hole of our yearning. We invite the Lord Jesus to be born here in the mess, in our brokenness, in the fallen-ness of our world. Jesus, be born in us. We have prepared room for you.

This is Joy. This is joy to the world, to our world.
In the darkest time of year, light.
In the stillness of the night, praise.
In the stink of the stable, glory.

I don’t know what trials you face, what darkness, what you wrestle with in circumstances or in personality, internally or externally, but I do know this: the magic of Christmas is for you. And it’s for me. It’s for everyone.

It’s Immanuel, God with us.
And what it brings is JOY.