Intro:
Joy. Can you think of a time of joy? In preparation for this morning, our third week of Advent, as we spend this season in expectancy and preparation and waiting, I wonder what we recognize as joy. So I took a few moments to reflect on my own life, to find and name the places of joy.
I thought of some times when I laughed long and hard – you know, the kind that the next day you wake up and as you roll out of bed you feel a little soreness in your belly muscles, your cheeks feel tight, and after a moment of wondering you realize both are from how much you laughed. Those were funny, but that’s not joy.
I thought of some times when I was really excited – you know, like the Saskatchewan Roughriders fans were in the last seconds of the Grey Cup football game, when it looked like they had won the game, until the penalty gave the Montreal team a second chance to win (which, if you hadn’t heard, they did). Those times are exciting, but that’s not joy.
I thought of some times when I got something I wanted – you know, the gift you’ve had your eye on, and you were hoping the hints had been heard and the gift might be under the tree. Those times were nice, but they weren’t joy.
Then I remembered one morning at the beginning of November, when I was at the Pastor’s conference in Banff. I’d gotten up early to exercise, gone back to the hotel room and had a relaxing soak in what would best be described as a “bathroom palace”. Joanne was happy and looking forward to her day, Thomas was in Calgary loving his time with grandma and grandpa, and I sat down in a quiet alcove looking out a window at the majestic Rocky Mountains, and had a few minutes in complete peace, prayerful moments, when physically I felt great, relationally I felt great, the creation around me was breathtakingly beautiful, and in it all, I recognized that God was with me. Present, in the moment, with me. That was a time of joy.
I thought of this past Wednesday night, we shared a meal as our Elders board here at church does each year in December. My house was full of people I love, I respect, and I enjoy being with. There was laughter, incredible food, and conversations all around, and in all of it this strong bond of love and unity and mutual dedication to serving God with all ourselves, desiring only to be obedient to Him, and I know that God was present with us. God was there, in each part, from the smile on young Daniel Loewen’s face, through the exuberance of the other kids, and into each of the conversations among the adults. God was there, and it was a time of joy.
And I thought of Saturday morning. Thomas was up first, laying in bed reading one of the Chronicles of Narnia. I came and lay beside him quietly, a few tickles and laughs, and Joanne came in a few minutes later and the three of us were just all together on Thomas’ bed, chatting about just normal life stuff, simply being together in a relaxed, content way. And I know, God was there, smiling with us, present with us. And it was a time of joy.
God With Us – That’s The Point: Is: 7:14, Luke 1:28-35
Is. 7:14 “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” (quoted in Matt. 1:23).
Luke 1: “Gabriel appeared to [Mary] and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
When I step back and look for joy, when I seek to find and name those, I see one thing very clearly: the times of joy are the times when I know that God is with us. That applies to quiet moments in Banff, Elders gatherings, and being with family; and it applies to the hard times of life – around a graveside, with a struggling friend, in conflict: when we know God is with us, there is joy. Joy is not the feeling of happiness. It is the knowledge in head and heart and spirit, that whatever the external realities God is with us.
That is the point. And that is why the Advent and Christmas season is so important in our faith journey. It really is not about the tree, the presents, the Christmas pageants and concerts and parties and food and food and food. Those are all good, they are en-joy-able, but joy is actually the recognition that God is with us. That word I just used – en-joy-able – is worth pausing in. The root is “joy”, the prefix is “en” which means to enter in, the suffix is “able” which means something that can become, so put it together the word actually describes this: something which allows us to enter into a state of joy. The things we enjoy are things we associate with feeling good or happy, and that feeling should point us to see God – “17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17).
But the joy comes in the fact that God is with us: the pleasurable things are meant to point us to the presence of God with us, and so allow us to enter into joy. And though it is definitely harder to recognize when life is challenging, and though that is definitely a sign of our growing maturity as followers of God (namely recognizing joy even during difficult times), the fact remains: joy is about recognizing and living in the presence of God with us.
The Heart of The Christmas Story:
The presence of God with us is the heart of the Christmas story. We know it in the grand narrative – the celebration of God become human, in the form of a baby. We see it also in the specific story, as I read to you from Scripture a moment ago.
It is in the very name itself: “Immanuel”. The word means, “God with us”, and the name signifies the reality.
And it is in the details of the story of Gabriel’s announcement. It is there at the very start – it is how Gabriel announces himself and greets Mary: “The Lord is with you!” And it is there again at the end – “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Of course, we recognize those last two assurances are pregnant with meaning – and now I’m pausing while you all catch up with my little pun… – ok, good, you caught it, while there is a lot more to those last two assurances, the simplest meaning in them is that “God is with you”.
Mary’s life was destined for difficulty, from the moment of this announcement and then following her for the rest of her life, right to the foot of the cross. Of course it would have been incredible to be the mother of God, to watch Jesus grow and discover and become, but she also faced great difficulty: the pregnancy would have been terrible as she suffered unthinkable social stigma and disbelief at her story; Bethlehem was a struggle, journey and rejection; then the flight from Herod and into refugee status. And yet, Mary would walk in joy because of Immanuel, God with us.
God With You:
Now, I know I’m not really telling you anything you don’t already know. This is not a new story, I bring you no new obscure revelation. Immanuel, God with us, you’ve heard it before. It’s been heard, your mind knows it, so I want to do something with the heart and the spirit instead.
I want to guide you in a Christian meditation on this truth: Immanuel, God with us. I want to simple create a space for us to know and experience God with us.
Here is the overview, so you know what to expect. We begin with a time of quiet, simply settling ourselves, breathing slowly, centering our hearts on Jesus, relaxing. Then I’ll invite you to think about a few pictures and ideas, and leave space for God to speak. Then we’ll thank Jesus for really and truly being Immanuel, God with us.
Quiet:
It is usually best to have your feet flat, back straight, eyes closed, but get comfortable. Ignore everything else around you, and just take a few breaths. Slowly, deeply. Let your physical self just be quiet. When I do this, I like to concentrate on breathing in the Holy Spirit and the presence of God, and breathing out my worries and concerns. If you find your mind wandering, just come back to attention to your breathing and the prayer as you do that the Spirit would flow in you.
Past Joys:
I invite you to find and name some of the recent times in the past where you knew joy – the presence of God with you. Don’t fight for the right one, the perfect one, this is just between you and God, so take whichever one comes to mind. Remember, reflect, let yourself feel it again in your emotions and experience it again in your spirit. As you reflect, see how present Jesus was to you in the middle of that time of joy.
Present:
Next come right into this moment, today, right now. God does not dwell in the past, He is always present in this exact moment. So as you sit quietly in this sanctuary, what are the things you bring with you right now? Great things and difficult things, both. In the quiet, listen to your own spirit and your own emotions. What are the major concerns, major triumphs, major needs inside of you today?
God with you:
Now imagine yourself holding those things in your hands – see them right there in front of you. Now hear this truth: you “will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)”. Know this to be true right now: God is with you. God is here, now. Present. Available. He has time, and so do you. Why don’t you talk with Jesus about that stuff in your hands, and listen to what He has to say about it.
Conclusion:
God is with us. Now I’m going to assume you heard Jesus speak to you, and so I need to follow that up with two things: first, what Jesus has said, you need to do. If you’re not sure then seek the counsel of a Christlike friend, and pray about it together, and search Scripture together as the sure foundation. So do it. The second thing is this: we need to share this deep joy. If we keep it to ourselves, we haven’t realized what it is really for. We’re going to sing that in a minute, “Go tell it on the Mountain”, and what needs to be told is not just the ancient story but the reality of that ancient story in your life today – how you have known Immanuel, God with us, and how that has led you in the path of joy when life is good and when life is a struggle. So: do it, and share it.
Just before we sing that carol, and to drive home this point that God is with us, I’d like you to rise and read with me parts of an ancient Christian prayer, dating back all the way to the 4th century, and attributed to Patrick the saint of Ireland:
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.
