“God’s Great Joy”

Luke 2:1 - 16

Rev. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

A Meditation for Christmas Eve

Two years ago our congregation built our first Habitat House. Being fairly new to the church, I was amazed by the inundation of volunteers ready to hammer, paint, and landscape. This outpouring of labor resulted in a wonderful new home for Jennifer and her young son, Sean. It also resulted in a great sense of joy resonating throughout the people of our church. We were thrilled to be able to come alongside this family, offering our hearts and our hands that they might own their very own home. What a joy it is to give such a wonderful gift!

Now that I’m a parent, I understand this truth more than ever before. At my house, there’s a two-and-a-half year old little man fast asleep in his bed. When Terry and I get home, we’ll nibble on cookies and milk placed thoughtfully on the table for us. And then we’ll get to work. You see, Jake gets his very first train set tomorrow. When we were at his cousin’s house for Thanksgiving, a small wooden train set kept our two-and-a-half year old enthralled for two-and-a-half hours straight. Nothing has ever captured his attention like that before. He loved that train! So when we get home, we’ll get busy setting up the most incredible train set ever for our little man. We’ll put the table in just the right spot. We’ll assemble the track and the buildings and accessories. We’ll line the train up in just the right spot. We’ll stand back to admire our work, and then we’ll fall exhausted into bed for a couple of hours until an excited little boy wakes us up before the break of dawn. And in the morning, when he comes down the stairs and sees the most wonderful gift he’s ever received, we’ll feel a deep sense of joy, knowing that our son loves the gift we gave him. What a joy it is to give such a wonderful gift!

Have you ever wonder how God must have felt on that very first Christmas? Every year we dissect the Christmas story—we look at it from the perspective of Mary and Joseph or the shepherds or the angels or the wise men. But what about God? What was God feeling on that very first Christmas?

I imagine that God felt like the parent of a young child on Christmas day. I imagine that God was giddy, excited for humanity to wake up on Christmas morning to the most wonderful gift we’ve ever received, wrapped not in ribbons or bows, but in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” the angel declared to the shepherds. That great joy? That’s God’s great joy! Joy that flowed from God’s very own soul into the course of human history. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord!” What a joy it must be to give such a wonderful gift!

And what was true 2,000 years ago is still true today. God delights in giving wonderful gifts to God’s children. God finds great joy in giving wonderful gifts to you. Won’t you open your hearts to receive all that God wants to offer to you this Christmas? Won’t you open your hearts to receive the greatest gift of all? Jesus Christ the Lord! Amen.