Joy
Most of us have experienced a time when we were going about our day and through mundane noise an alert sounds out to get our attention. Perhaps it is an Amber Alert, a weather alert, or that music only used by television stations when they interrupt what is airing to bring breaking news. I have been trained much like Pavlov’s dog to react to these alarms with trepidation. A bit of fear comes over me afraid that the news will be bad. And it always is. I cannot think of a time when I heard an alert issued for anything joyful. Can you?
But there was one time recorded in the Gospel of Luke, that ordinary noise was interrupted with breaking joyful news of epic proportions. Now, I am not sure what it sounded like when a herd of sheep were getting ready for bed out in the fields of Bethlehem, but I imagine there was a lot of bleating and perhaps shepherds talking, joking, or maybe even singing. And even if it was quiet, it was an ordinary loud quiet noise. You know, the kind of quiet people get used to hearing, like the humming of a refrigerator. Then breaking through the darkness shone a great light and an angel’s voice. Now, that is an alert! A real attention getter! I can only imagine the funny feeling in the pit of the shepherds’ stomachs; probably like the feeling I get when I hear an alert sound. Then the angel calmed their fears and announced the greatest news ever announced. The One promised to come through the line of Adam to conquer Satan had arrived! The wait had been about 4,000 years! This joyful news as not just for the shepherds, not even just for the Jews, but was for all people! People then, people now, and people in between! People there and people everywhere! A bundle of joy for all! That is what I call joy to the world!
Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)
“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only sone into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9)
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person – though a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 6-8)
“No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
“This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16a)
Our advent focus this week is love. That seems so simple, doesn’t it? Of course, God loves us –we find the marks of his love for us throughout the Bible, which is in itself a love letter to us, his children.
The simple truth is that Jesus came to earth to live and die as a man because he loves us. He knew as God that we could never by justified on our own, so he did it for us.
How many times have you looked at your own child, students, parents, friends, or other loved ones and thought, “I love them so much I would die for them”? I know I have, many times. But what about the man holding the sign on the curb? The classmate that hurt your child? The church member that hurt you? That co-worker that is so obnoxious and hateful toward Christians? Do you love them? Would you die for them? Jesus does and he did. God looked into the future seeing each and everyone of us and had a plan that he would send his one and only son to be born and live and die a horrific death by Roman crucifixion simply because h loves us and wants us to spend eternity with him.
Rejoice, O child, for you are loved – our God sent his son from above.
The angels sang, the star shown bright, when love was born in Jesus Christ!
He showed us how to love and live, and to him all our praise we give
Our lives were spared by his sacrifice when love was born in Jesus Christ!
*”Joy” and “Love” each appeared in our 2024 advent devotion for Northside women Celebrate Advent and the Christmas Season.
Copyright Northside Church 2026