BROADCASTS.com

b'

Our fallen world makes it hard at times to see the real Christmas joy God gives us through his son Jesus. But if we\\u2019re open to finding it in unusual places it will show up sometimes in surprising ways.

In the Christmas story found in Luke\\u2019s gospel, we read where an angel of the Lord, along with \\u201cthe glories of the Lord,\\u201d appear to shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem. It scares them to death. But then the angel tells them not to be afraid because \\u201cI bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.\\u201d

Why joy is sometimes hard to find

Why then does joy seem so hard to find sometimes, even at Christmas and the days that follow?

In his book Christmas Joy, Mel Lawrenz writes,

Real joy never originates from within; it must come from without. Perhaps this is why so many of us have a difficult time finding joy at Christmas. Bite into a Christmas cookie and you might enjoy it. Open a shiny package and you might delight in what you find inside. But joy itself - true and pure - is so much more than enjoyment.

Joy is the startling realization that God has claimed territory in this world. He has taken back what belongs to him. Every day we can remind ourselves of this revelation - reignite this joy again and again. Joy is a thirst that doesn\\u2019t want to be quenched; a hunger that knows it will go on and on. It\\u2019s a good thing to never get enough of God.

He concludes with this prayer, Dear God, turn my fear into great joy.

A few years ago I talked in this podcast about an example of real Christmas joy coming from outside of ourselves, as Lawrenz puts it. It\\u2019s episode 006, \\u201cThe Gift of Joy - Part 2.\\u201d I\\u2019ll have a link to it in the show notes. You can access it by going to johncertalic.com/006.

Summary of episode 006, The Gift of Joy - Part 2.

To summarize that episode, I talked about

• Melancholy Christmas carols
• Joy being more like a cat than it is a dog
• How joy often comes as a surprise
• The beauty found in several types of relationships brings joy
• Creating a welcoming place in our heart for joy to find us

For today, I want to comment further on the YouTube video I mentioned in that episode. It is of a flash mob in a food court from a shopping mall in Ontario, Canada. I\\u2019ll also have a link to it at the bottom of the show notes, so you can watch it for yourself later. It\\u2019s really an uplifting piece and is only about 4 and \\xbd minutes long.

There is so much Christmas joy in that video that comes from outside of ourselves. In measured sequence, a group of people begin to stand up, and one by one start singing the \\u201cHallelujah Chorus\\u201d from Handel\\u2019s Messiah.

It\\u2019s a very moving piece and the local media outlet thought so too, as they ran filmed it and ran it on a local TV station that night. We learn later that the stunningly beautiful voices were from members of a church choir in the area.

Reactions to real Christmas joy

Here are a few quotes from people who watched on TV a replay of the live event

\\u201cI\\u2019m not a religious person, but I found this video to be beautiful and it brought tears to my eyes, well done!\\u201d

\\u201cYou can clearly see people crying\\u2026 This is the most intense video I have ever seen on YouTube\\u201d

\\u201cI was deeply touched by this great performance.\\u201d

\\u201cJust watching the video nearly moves me to tears.\\u201d

\\u201cEvery time I watch this I get the holy goosebumps and tears in my eyes. So powerful! THANK YOU!! and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!\\u201d

\\u201cI haven\\u2019t been to Mass in years, and I\\u2019m bawling my eyes out right now.\\u201d

\\u201cI watch this recording over and over again, because of its overwhelming impact. The happiness on the faces of those people performing, but also to those listening!\\u201d

\\u201cThough I am an atheist, yet I find myself coming back to this video over and over again. I love beautiful music and even more, I love seeing people enjoy it. I think this is wonderful!!\\u201d

Words of joy

The sacrifice this church choir made on a Saturday to entertain and bless strangers in a shopping mall is a thing of beauty. They brought real Christmas joy to unsuspecting shoppers, and in return experienced it for themselves.

The joy on the faces of the singers was palpable. You can tell from their expression the choir actually believed what they were singing. Their voices connected with their hearts, and with the hearts of the people watching

The words they sang are quite simple:

There\\u2019s the phrase repeated in Latin, translated as \\u201cThe kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and his Christ\\u201d

And He shall reign forever and ever

King of kings forever, Hallelujah

Lord of hosts

Lord of lords, Hallelujah

Handel is masterful in using just a few words from the last book in the Bible to create joy. He weaves lyrics together with beautiful melodies, bringing hope that there is a future for all of us outside of ourselves.

That the difficulties of this life will vanish one day, and that because of the king of kings and Lord of lords, You and I can begin living as God originally intended for all mankind. Forever and ever. That is real Christmas joy to end the year. And we found it in a food court in a shopping mall in Ontario Canada, of all places.

Here\\u2019s the main point I hope you remember from today\\u2019s episode

Our fallen world makes it hard at times to see the real Christmas joy God gives us through his son Jesus. But if we\\u2019re open to finding it in unusual places it will show up sometimes in surprising ways. It may even come when we\\u2019re scared, as it did for the Shepherds in the Christmas story. Or in a food court at a shopping mall

I\\u2019d love to hear any thoughts you have about today\\u2019s show.

Closing

In closing, this episode concludes season six of You Were Made for This. Season Seven starts next week.

To end the year with real Christmas joy I encourage you again to click on the two links at the end of the show notes to get the full flavor of what I\\u2019ve been talking about. Both the food court flash mob on YouTube, and then episode 006, \\u201cThe Gift of Joy - Part 2\\u201d

Thanks so much for listening in. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today\\u2019s show, to both reflect and to act and to be on the watch for real Christmas joy throughout the year. Because as you know by now, You Were Made for This.

Well, that\\u2019s all for today. See you next year, next season, next week, next Wednesday, January 5th, 2022

Happy New Year, one and all!

More to Listen to

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob 2010

Episode 006, \\u201cThe Gift of Joy - part 2\\u201d

Our Sponsor

You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. We depend upon the generosity of people like you to pay our bills.\\xa0 If you\'d like to support what we do with a secure tax-deductible donation, please click here. We\'d be so grateful if you did.