Joy Personified (12/21/2023)

Last evening, our parish faith formation director and music director led the elementary students in their Christmas Program. Every child had a role, a way of participating. Some read, some sang, some acted out the nativity. And the joy on the faces of so many of the youngsters was so real it was almost tangible. As I sat and watched and listened, I was reminded that Christianity isn’t a passive pursuit but rather an active mission, a giving of one’s self in service to Christ. And I was blessed to be reminded of the joy that comes into our lives when loving Christ and bearing Christ to others is our reason.

Christianity isn’t a possession for individual owners nor is it a membership to an elite club. It truly is a mission. Repeatedly Christ told us this and showed us this. Coming to know and love Christ engenders in us a heartfelt desire to bring Christ to others joyfully. And the “joyfully” isn’t optional. If we truly open our minds, hearts, souls to Christ, “joy” comes into our lives, our very being, a “joy” that gives us resiliency even in hardship and grief because we know we are not alone and we know that there is more than this life. We become like the woman who found her lost coin; we open ourselves and invite others to share in our joy.

As believers in Christ, we are to be people of joy. If I could give the congregations of the world a tip, I would tell them that movies are good, speakers are good, programs are good, but the joy of knowing Christ is what will attract others to Christ. If we wish to bring others to Christ, “joy” is our most useful and appealing invitation especially when it is being exhibited by loving people.

As we approach the celebration of Christmas and the world is watching we Christians, let us encounter that world with joy. Let us be signs to the world of what is possible when individuals know of Christ’s love for us, accept Christ’s redeeming love, and become bearers of that love to the world. To borrow a line from Charles Dickens, let us live Christmas every day of the year.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.