Great Joy

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, and of incense and of myrrh.”
Matthew 2:9-11

Simple things make me happy. Things like reducing the number of color copies we make at the office or watching baby koala videos on YouTube. A good book can make me happy as well – but joy is different. For me joy isn’t about things, joy is about heart change. Things can’t really bring about the kind of heart change that brings great joy into our lives. There is a person who can though and His name is Jesus. The angels told the shepherds they were bringing good news of great joy – the news of a child born to us to be our savior (Luke 2:10-11).

This week’s passage tells of another heart changing encounter experienced by another group of people. A group of wise men, magi, kings of the orient or astrologers whatever you want to call them, were men of science who had traveled a great distance to find the foretold child. Note that some time had passed in Matthew’s narrative of this scene. Jesus is called a child and he and his earthly family are in a house – not a stable. Jesus is quite possibly a toddler by the time these travelers arrive and their hearts are changed when they reach their destination, when the evidence they had been following led them to the King of the Jews, the Savior of the world – they were overjoyed.

The word overjoyed as found in the New International version of the bible is actually the translation of four Greek words that in the simplest of meanings would be “great, great joy, joy.” This great, great joy, joy comes from a heart changed by the One who according to Jude “is able to keep us from falling and to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior…” (Jude 1:24-25).

This time of year can be so difficult for many of us – even if life is going pretty well, the pain of the not so great things that happened throughout the year, the losses experienced and the stress of living on this planet seem to want to hit us in the face and steal our joy. But He - who as a baby changed the shepherds, as a toddler changed the wise men, as an adult changed the hearts of tax collectors and sinners, and as a crucified, buried and resurrected Savior changed the hearts of all us who believe - fills us with His great joy.

May we all be filled with that great joy and may we share the One who gives it with those around us.

Merry Christmas!

A Prayer
Father - thank you for the great joy that fills our lives when Jesus changes our hearts. Whether it is the baby in the manger or the man pouring our His life and love on the cross we can have great joy even in the midst of great trials and sorrows, because our hearts have been changed. Help us Lord to introduce others to your abounding love and the great joy that it brings. In the name of Jesus, who gives us great, great joy – Amen.