Joy instead of fear
Readings: Luke 2. 1-20
The angel said ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people’.
It’s Christmas, the wonderful news that God has come to us, come to join us in our world. No longer is he far off, no longer is he unseen, no longer do we hear only through messengers and prophets. Now in Jesus he is with us, we see in his face the face of God, now he speaks with his own mouth.
In this infant the God who created the entire universe has come. The infinite God become a tiny child. It’s wonderful news, joyful news, it’s little wonder that the angels couldn’t keep it in. Have you ever been given good news? It sort of bubbles up in you doesn’t it, you have to share it, you want to spread it. And that’s what happens with the angels, they want to share the news that God has come to his people, but it’s the middle of the night, everyone is asleep. And so it’s some unsuspecting shepherds who first hear the news.
And what do they tell the shepherds about this news of God come to us? Do not fear, I bring you news of great joy. As God enters our world he comes to exchange our fear for joy.
I wonder what you fear? What worries you? Fear for the future as we head into a new year? Fear for our world with all it’s challenges and darkness? Fear of rejection? As we sing at this time of year, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. Jesus has come to meet the needs of our fears, and of our hopes.
I want to focus on three joys this morning.
The first is the joy of gifts. Who has already opened their presents? Well, we either have or will later be exchanging gifts, offering our tokens of love, tokens of our affection with each other. The joy of Christmas is that God has given to us his Son in token of his love for us. God so loved the world that he gave. Isn’t that wonderful. Despite our mess, despite the darkness of our world, God gives.
One fear we often have is the fear of rejection, and with it the fear of being truly known. If only they knew this about me, or this thing, maybe they wouldn’t love me anymore. It’s a powerful fear. But God meets it in Jesus. For here the find that the God of the Universe, the one who knows us completely, even better than we know ourselves, still loves us. The one person in the whole universe who knows you best, loves you most. And the joy of the gift he has given us in Jesus is that it’s an invitation back to him. God isn’t waiting for us to be good enough for him, to work our way up to him, he see’s that we can never meet the standard, so he comes down to us, to make us new, to bring us back to him.
The joy of the gift God has given us that first Christmas is that, like any gift, it’s not about what we can do for him, but what he has given us, a new beginning, a new hope, a way back to him.
The second joy is the joy of life. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but in some ways it’s a bit odd that we’re still celebrating the birth of someone born 2000 years ago. Even with the greatest and most influential figures in history we tend to stop marking their birthdays within a few decades of their death. And that’s another fear isn’t it, death, and with it the fear of being forgotten.
But the joy of life is the news that Jesus is alive. He isn’t dead, instead he’s living and active, and continuing to bring new life. This joy is that the risen Jesus is daily at work in the lives of those who choose to follow him. Coming to sort out the mess in here, bring new life, new beginning. A new life restored and healed from the mess we make, the mess we might call sin.
Jesus said ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’. The living Jesus brings us life as it should be. It doesn’t mean our lives in this world will be perfect, that we’ll never suffer and things will never go wrong. He doesn’t promise that. But he does promise that life with him will be more abundant, more fulfilling, more joy filled and hopeful, a deep joy and hope that endures all circumstances. Jesus has come to bring us life, life in all its fulness.
And he has come to bring us everlasting life, when this life is over, we are not forgotten, we are not left in the grave, instead we are taken to God, to a world made new for even fuller and more abundant life. In the coming of Jesus death really has lost its sting, it doesn’t get the last word, Jesus does.
And finally the joy of hope. As we look ahead to 2026 I wonder how you’re feeling? How you feel about your own prospects, those of your family or friends, those of our world? Are you hopeful, or are you worried? I don’t know about you but hope feels in short supply at the moment. We may fear for the future, tomorrow, next month, next year. But in Jesus, the Messiah, we have hope, even in the darkest of times. In fact Jesus’ name is all about hope. One name he is given, as we sometimes sing in our carols, is Emmanuel, which means God with us. God has come to join us in the mess and brokenness of our world. And the other name is Jesus, which means ‘the Lord saves’, God come to save us from the mess and brokenness.
In Jesus the last page is written. And what is written isn’t death, or hopelessness, or misery. The last page is life, indeed it’s a great celebration. What could there possibly be to celebrate? In Jesus’ coming to us he has set in motion God’s plans to make all things new. It isn’t just that we go to heaven when we die, rather in Jesus the whole universe is being made new, and perfect and whole. Eternal life isn’t just for us, it’s for everything that is good and glorious.
The joy of hope is that, whatever happens, however bad things get, the last page is written by Jesus. And he is bringing us and all who follow him at last to a mess free world, the world as it was always meant to be. A world overflowing with life, life as it should be, abundant, unending, full life. The great celebration at the end of the Bible is that at last all is restored, all is as it should be at last, and will be forever. A people renewed, and healed and restored, filling a new creation that is renewed, healed and restored.
This Christmas, may we hear the message of the angels, God has come to us in Jesus to exchange our fears for joy. The joy of gifts, the joy of life, and the joy of hope. And may we, in seeing this God come among us, place our fears in his hands, and receive the joy that he brings.
Amen.