Joy to the World

Friday 11 December 2020

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1 v 41

Who can remember the summer of 2018?  What a summer that was when England finally turned up at a football tournament and played. After so many years of disappointment, Joy was abounding! I remember being in a crowd outside a pub in York when England played Sweden in the quarters and Harry Kane scored the first Goal, all I can say is we were glad we were at the back as Joy erupted in the form of jumping, shouting, squealing, crazy dancing, chanting and every other expression of joy you can think of.  And of course, many people at the front got an early bath…in beer. Wow what a day that was! How good did you feel when the final whistle went and we were through to the semi’s?

Joy is an emotion that is expressed in physical ways and often in response to good news. The advent of Jesus Christ into this world is the best news that that the world has ever had. We see that Joy expressed at the good news of the coming arrival of two new babies. Mary had  been told she was to have God’s son by miraculous conception through the power of the Holy Spirit had gone to see her cousin Elizabeth who was also having a  child miraculously in her old age. When Elizabeth was greeted by Mary the bible tells is the baby leapt for Joy in Elizabeth’s womb, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, and full of Joy.

Mary expressed her Joy in a song starting with the words, My Soul magnified the Lord and my Spirit has rejoiced in in God my Saviour.     Luke 1 v 46.

There is a strong connection between JOY and the presence of the Holy Spirit as He brings into reality the presence of God and where we begin to see something of His awesome majesty, His beauty and a 1000 other words we could use to describe Jesus and still be nowhere near the full picture.

No wonder Joy is a common word in the Christmas carols, one of my favourites is “Joy to the world”. Why?  The songs tells us because “The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.“

Our prayer this week is as we draw near to Christmas, we will see Jesus more deeply, Express Joy more exuberantly and be filled afresh with the Holy Spirt.

 

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 Luke 1v 39-56

The only lasting and fully satisfying joys for any man lie on the other side of a cross.

Walter J. Chantry
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