Where do you find Joy?Where do you find joy? Each of us, might give a different answer. I find joy in the changing of the seasons, I am particularly fond of Autumn, on a crisp, sunny autumnal morning, walking along a path of crispy leaves, gives me a great, childlike joy. What I really want to do, is run through them, arms outstretched, laughing and smiling, but perhaps age has constrained my childlike enthusiasm.Joy is found in many other places too, spending time with family and friends, a meal out, the simple pleasures of life.As Christians one of the fruits of the spirit is joy. Joy is part of who we are, and yet often I have heard it said, that Christians don’t appear to be too joyful, which is a great shame, after all joy is at the heart of Christianity. We live in times where it might seem hard to find joy, the world seems to be an increasingly worrisome place. Cast our minds back 2000 years or so ago, and perhaps the world was no less worrisome, particularly to a young girl, not yet married, who encountered an angel. The Jews lived under Roman occupation, conflict sadly was never that far away. Mary’s world view might have been smaller, satellite communications and social media were a long way off into the future, but there would have been the stresses and strains of daily living that we all experience today to a greater or lesser extent. So when an angel comes to announce her pregnancy, it is hard to imagine Mary hearing good news. An unplanned teenage pregnancy, amongst the small town gossips, and that’s before we even consider how Joseph might feel about all this. Yet, Good news and Joy are at the heart of the Christmas Message. And indeed as Mary greets her cousin Elizabeth, she sings ‘My soul rejoices in God my saviour’. As the angels greet the shepherds on the hillside that first Christmas night, they say ‘Do not be afraid, for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.’The joy of Christmas is that deep-seated joy, a rejoicing in our souls, that nothing can dispel. I hope and pray you know this joy for yourselves this Christmas time. and that you may have many joy-filled moments in the month ahead.May God Bless you and your families this Christmas time Heather
Advent 2, Year A – Matthew 3:1-12I’d always known, deep down, my role in life, and that God had sent me for a particular purpose.My life was extraordinary in so many ways … even my birth. Not as extraordinary as his of course, but still, nonetheless, remarkable.My parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were well on years, when I came along, indeed, my mum was believed to be barren. And then, the impossible, became possible. An angel visited my father, whilst he was in the most holy of holies within the temple, and told him of my birth. ‘Do not be afraid,’ The angel said, ‘your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the Spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people, prepared for the Lord.’My father, had questions, of course he did, why wouldn’t he, this all seemed so impossible, and so for a time, he became mute, unable to speak until I had been born, and then having written my name on a board to confirm the words of my mother that my name, was not to be a family name, passed down from one generation to another, but rather it was to be ‘John’, the name given to me by the angel of the Lord, my fathers tongue was loosed and he was able to speak and sing God’s praises again.Having seen all these things, the neighbours were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea, people were talking about all these things … and wondered ‘what then is this child going to be?’ For the Lords hand was with me.It was a truly remarkable birth.and all for a purpose … to lead the people back to the Lord their God …. To make ready a people, prepared for the Lord.That was what the angel said, words which echo the words of the prophet Isaiah in the scriptures, A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’And even before I was born, it was as if, I had always known the one for whom I was to prepare the way for.My mother would tell me of the time, when towards the end of her pregnancy, she was visited by her relative, Mary, and how when she heard Mary’s greeting, she felt me leap within her womb as if I knew the significance of this moment, and mum was filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed. ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.’As children we would play alongside each other, I guess we always knew, but so much was left unsaid, we both had our own paths to travel, mine was to prepare the way for him, to point others to him, when the time came.And so I led an extraordinary life, out in the wilderness, preaching in the Desert of Judea, calling people to repentance and baptism as a sign of repentance for their sins.The years had gone by, I had my own following, my own disciples … my own very clear message … and a very clear purpose. But still we waited …I knew I would know when the time came, but still why the long wait …I guess it meant I still had work to do, more people to make ready and prepared for the Lord.But there were times, when it felt hard to keep on going.Always pointing away from myself to the one who was to come after me.And when finally Jesus did come to be baptised by me in the Jordan, I knew the time had come … I felt so unworthy, who was I, the my Lord should be baptised by me, but Jesus insisted, and so to fulfil all righteousness, I baptised him, and in that moment, heaven was opened and the spirit of God descended like a dove and lit on him and a voice from heaven declared, ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.’Now was the time … now was the moment.My job was done, the people were prepared, now they could follow him.Well, that’s what I thought, it seemed so obvious to me … who could miss such an obvious sign. All I could do was point people to Jesus, the lamb of God.That is not to say, I never had my own doubts … of course I did. Perhaps I expected, just like so many other people around me, that when he came, when he started his ministry, everything would change, perhaps there would be an uprising, that everyone would suddenly believe …. I don’t know, perhaps it seems silly and unrealistic, but in the harsh reality of life, when I was thrown in prison by Herod, I had my questions. And so I sent my disciples to ask Jesus ‘Was he really the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else,’ and when they returned saying ‘the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.’I knew once more that he really was the one … But that my work was not just for a season …My work carries on … and will do until the day he comes again in glory.It might look a little different, certainly there is less camel hair, honey and locusts. But it is still the same in so many ways, the job of pointing away from ourselves and pointing others to Jesus, preparing them to meet Jesus for themselves. Because he truly is the Good news.
