Advent 19: Joy ...

Thursday, Dec 19, 2013. The promise of Christmas is joy. Its promise is a joy which cannot be destroyed. It is a joy which is deep within. It is a joy, which lasts.

Not dependent any more …

The joy, which Christmas promises, is a joy which is no longer dependent on the behaviour of others. It is based on Christ, and he has done what is needed already. It is based on his birth, but also on his death and resurrection. It is based on his power, his character and his faithfulness.

Too often, we base our joy on things we gain. We base it on material presents. We are just looking at the Christmas tree and what is around it. We want new electronic toys, or new games, or want leisure. All this is used as a source of joy at Christmas. But it is a weak source, a very fragile source, and what comes out of it is not the joy we are promised at Christmas!

There are other sources of joy, we use. We use success in our job, or in any hobby we pursue, as a source of joy. We use gain in terms of money or sales or income, or interest - as a source of joy. But they are very volatile - as the stock market. It goes up for some time, it goes down … a daily flutter. Do you really want to base your joy on the up and down of the stock market?

Joy defeated? …

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There are also other forces active in this world, which try to diminish our joy. There is competition, and not everyone can win. When we are part of the winning team, we feel fine. When we loose, our joy is gone. But can the joy of our life be so dependent on many factors, which usually lead to win or loose? We need another joy. We need Christ!

We do not want our joy to depend on these forces, which try to defeat it. We do not want it to depend on random processes, which are feeding their influence into our life and our life path day by day. We are given the promise of a deep joy, which is no longer influenced by the waves at the surface of the ocean. There are enormous depth below. And Christ Jesus is the Lord of all.

How do you explain what happens when the Holy Spirit is active in our life? We cannot explain it. We just experience his presence. We focus our mind on his guidance, on his truth and mercy, on his loyalty and support.

The joy of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is a mighty force. It comes in the middle of problems. It does not wipe out all storms in our life - but it will calm them down, after we had to face the wind and the waves. But it has to come before this happens, it has to come in the middle of the storm - otherwise we would be thrown back to a joy which would be dependent again, dependent on fragility. But his joy is much deeper … and we are invited to find it, today and tomorrow and for eternity! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts