Rejoice Jubilantly with All Joy

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  --Philippians 4:5

What brings you joy every time you think about it?  What causes you to rejoice?  In this Christmas season, you may think of giving the perfect gift to a loved one.  You may think of a child's sense of wonder and surprise when presented with that one perfect gift.

The word "rejoice" occurs 77 times in the New Testament.  It occurs 10 times in the little letter of Philippians.  It occurs twice in the one verse that is associated with this, the third Sunday of Advent.  The verse is Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"

What is the motivation for Paul's sense of joy in this statement?  I think it is found in the very next verse, near the end: "The Lord is near."

We all know those people who never do anything unless the boss or the teacher is in the room.  These inauthentic people have bad behavior generally, but their behavior improves as soon as they see someone in authority over them.

As Christians, our behavior would surely improve if Jesus suddenly showed up in our midst.  (Remember the disciple we know as "Doubting Thomas"--when Jesus appeared before him, he no longer doubted.)  In fact, more than just our behavior might improve.  Our countenance, the look on our faces, might immediately improve as well.

But Paul didn't say for us to rejoice only when we sensed His presence.  He said to rejoice in the Lord always.  Why?  Because the Lord is near.  Always.

It is human nature to long for something better.  We anticipate the coming of Christmas, and our joy is increased.  I think Mary had that sense of anticipation.  As the donkey crested that last hill and the lights of Bethlehem came into view, I think she must have anticipated the end of her long journey from Nazareth, looking forward to some rest before going into labor.  Joseph, too, may have been looking forward to securing lodging for the two of them, and beyond that perhaps locating a local midwife there in Bethlehem.  There was that sense of heightened anticipation, that all the hope, all the preparation was soon going to culminate in the birth of a blessing.

We, too, have something to long for, something to keep us pressing on in joyful anticipation.  No, it's not Christmas, which will be over in a little over a week.  It's not even the coming New Year, with it's challenges and resolutions.  It is the imminent return of Jesus at the end of this age.  Remember that line in the Lord's Prayer that says, "Thy kingdom come"?  That is what we are longing for, that is what we look forward to with great anticipation.

The Jews have a tradition in their Passover celebration of setting a place at the table (or at least pouring a cup of wine) for the prophet Elijah.  Those families with young children may ask the youngest to go outside and watch for Elijah as they finish their meal preparations.  The reason they do this is that the prophets said Elijah must come first, before the Messiah arrives.  This tradition keeps hope alive, and incorporates anticipation into the celebration.

Of course, we Christians believe that John the Baptist fulfilled the role set forth in Scripture, that "Elijah must come first."  John's message echoed Isaiah 40:3, when he said he was one crying in the desert, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." (see Mark 1:3).  That message is just as powerful now as it was when John said it.  Even now, Lord Jesus, come!

Closely related to the words "joy" and "rejoice" is the term "jubilation".  In the book of Leviticus Moses set forth the command from God that every 50th year would be a year of Jubilee, in which all debts would be forgiven, ancestral lands would be restored to their original owners, and most importantly, those who had sold themselves to pay off a debt would be set free.  This celebration was a foretelling of the coming of God's kingdom on earth.  In that day, we who have been enslaved to sin will be set free forever.  In that day, we who belong to God will be given our inheritance in Him.

Zechariah 14:9 says, "And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one."  Revelation 20:4-5 describes a time when those who have been martyred for the sake of Christ will come to life and reign with Jesus for a thousand years.  Friend, if the thought of this event doesn't make you jubilant, nothing will. 

We should rejoice that the day is coming, and that it is coming sooner now than ever before.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud, and majesty and awe

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave

        Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel 

Hope Is A Four Letter Word

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.                   --1 John 3:3

What do you take to a baby shower?  What kinds of gifts should you bring?  Certainly there is an air of expectation and hopefulness.  All mothers know the joys and fears of the expectant mother-to-be:  the hope that this period of discomfort and sacrifice will culminate with the birth of the baby; the hope that the baby will be healthy and well, and the suppressed fear of what she would do if the baby is not healthy or whole; and finally the fear (especially of first-time mothers) that she will not be a good mom, that she would not know how to care for and nurture the baby properly.

That is why the gifts at the baby shower are given in anticipation of the life that is to come.  Friends bring warm clothing, bath oils, talcum powders, all nice things to help make the baby comfortable.  Parents may bring play-pens, strollers, car-seats--more expensive items to make it easier to keep the baby safe while travelling away from home.  But the most important gift of all is diapers.

No one in polite society will say what the diapers are for, but we all know.  The child will go through a ton of them before he is toilet-trained.  However, there is the hope that one day, eventually, the child will no longer need them.

Last week I wrote about the wise men, the magi from the East, who traveled first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem to pay honor to Jesus, the new-born King.  They brought with them gifts, tribute (if you will) to the King of kings.  We all know the gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Gold was often brought as tribute to royalty.  When foreign leaders visited David and Solomon in the Old Testament, they brought gold.  Aside from its monetary value, gold is seen as pure, as desirable, as durable, and even as royal.

Frankincense is an essential oil used in perfumes because of its pleasant aroma.  The effused aroma promotes relaxation and feelings of peace.  It also has medicinal or healing properties, that foretold of Jesus's ministry on Earth.

Myrrh is named for the Arabic word for "bitter."  It, too, is an essential oil that historically had been used in embalming and mummification as far back as ancient Egypt.  This gift foretold of His death, and yet alluded to his Resurrection, because it, too, has medicinal and healing powers when used as an essential oil.  One source I read says its antioxidant properties help in restoring dead cells or preventing cell death.  Is that not one role that Jesus fulfills now?

So we see that the birth of the Savior brought with it hope, but as the gifts of the Wise Men foretold, that hope would come through hardship.

There is a place near the southern tip of Africa that we call the Cape of Good Hope.  In the fifteenth century, as the European population expanded and the demand increased for spices from the East (to preserve food more than season it), the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was trying to find a shipping route to India southward around the continent of Africa.  As he approached the southern tip, he experienced the phenomenon of competing currents where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.  The cold Atlantic current mingles with the warm Indian Ocean current, and at certain points may mingle with Antarctic winds from the South.

Those of you familiar with meteorology recognize that the clash of a warm-air current meeting with a cold front can cause violent storms.  This is why Dias first called the place Cabo das Tormentas, or "Cape of Storms."

How many of us are tormented by frequent storms in life?  We are sailing along with warm wind currents when BAM! a cold front meets us out of nowhere.  Satan sends storms to buffet us, much like the storm encountered by the Disciples on the Sea of Galilee.  Matthew chapter 8 (and again in Luke chapter 8) tells of a time when Jesus and His disciples got into a boat and started across the lake.  Jesus was tired, and fell asleep in the bow.  A huge storm erupted, causing waves large enough to swamp the boat; the disciples, experienced fishermen who had plenty of experience sailing these waters, feared for their lives.

They shouldn't have.  Jesus, the source of hope, was in the boat with them.

The One who had created the winds and the waters by His Word spoke peace to the waves, and there was calm.  His question to them, "Where was your faith?" was not so much chastising them for not being able to withstand the storm themselves.  I think it had more to do with their faith that the Son of God, who was in the boat, could not have been destroyed by the storm.  Their proximity to Him, therefore, assured their safety as well.

Back our story about the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias:  It was in 1411 that he first sailed through the "Cape of Storms".  Seventy years later, King John II renamed it the "Cape of Good Hope" (Capo de Boa Esperanza) because there was now a reliable shipping trade route to India.  He was optimistic and full of hope that the people of the West would benefit greatly from increased access to spices and preservatives from the East.

You see, hope does not exist without adversity.  You can't say, "I hope I get this job," if there was no possibility that you could lose it.  You can't think "I hope my daughter gets home safely," if there was no real hazard, no actual perils to which she could possibly fall prey.  Our hope for good recognizes the prevalence of evil; our hope of life is juxtaposed with the very real possibility of death.  We cling to hope, especially when the source of hope is outside of ourselves.

So we meditate on hope this second Sunday of the Advent season.  This weekend my pastor told the background of one of the most quoted Scriptures of the Christmas season.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Emanuel.  --Isaiah 7:14

We know this as a Messianic scripture, and Old Testament verse that foretold the coming of Jesus.  But the background is an instance where Ahaz, the king of Judah, had lost all hope, and Isaiah the prophet had offered some.  The adversity at the time, the circumstance that made Ahaz lose hope, was that his enemies in Syria had begun to lay siege on Jerusalem.  Ahaz knew that his army was no match for the Syrian army.  In fact, he had secretly sent messages to another enemy, the king of Assyria, offering the people of Judah as slaves if he would spare his own life.

Ahaz feared for his life.  Isaiah came with words of hope.  "Take care and be calm," he said.  "Have no fear and do not be fainthearted." (Isaiah 7:4).  Isaiah's message was to believe God.  You see, God had already promised, before Ahaz was born, that a descendant of David would always be on the throne in Jerusalem.  Ahaz had no heirs at the time, but he was genuinely afraid.  He also had no faith, and as a result, he was hopeless.

Hopelessness drives people to do desperate things.  Today we empty the store shelves in anticipation of a storm, or we make a run on gasoline when we think that oil supply chains may be cut off.  The Donner Party resorted to cannibalism when the winter storm got so bad.  Ahaz offered his people as slaves to a foreign power because he feared his enemy.

Isaiah came with a word of encouragement:  God's got this.  There is no reason to get all panicky.  "Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God," Isaiah said.  "Make it as deep as Sheol or high as heaven." (Isaiah 7:11).  Unfortunately, Ahaz was hopeless.  "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord." (Isaiah 7:12).  This was not a statement of humility; he was not trying to bow to God's greatness.  Instead, he was showing exactly how little faith he had in God.

Isaiah's answer, that one day a virgin would conceive and bear a son, whose very name means "God with us," was meant to show that God was being true to His promise that the line of David would one day culminate in the birth of the Messiah.  God had not yet finished His plan for you, Ahaz, so have faith.  Much like Jesus's question to the disciples: Where is your faith?  Don't you know that God's promises are true?  Therein lies our source of hope.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare to make no other claim,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
In ev'ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, his covenant and blood
Support me in the raging flood;
When ev'ry earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in him be found,
Clothed in his righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before his throne.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

 

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will  have the Light of life.  --John 8:12

I am the Bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.  --John 6:35

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  It is four weeks before the celebration of God's greatest gift to Mankind.  As we prepare for Christmas with our families, we should stop and remember the preparations that God made thousands of years ago so that we could know Him.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."  --Matthew 2:1-2

Most Bible scholars agree that the wise men from the East had traveled up to two years to get to Jerusalem to visit the Christ child.  The star they followed had appeared two years before their meeting with Herod to ask where He might be born.  Think about that for a minute; God sent a heavenly light to guide the men to His only Son, who would describe Himself later as the Light of the world.

That was not the only preparation that had been made.  Not by a long shot.  Matthew tells us more of the story.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:   AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, AND BY NO MEANS THE LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL."  --Matthew 2:3-6

The prophets had written this prediction fifteen hundred years earlier.  That's how long God had anticipated the Advent of His Son in Bethlehem.  Did you know that "Bethlehem" means "House of Bread"?  Oh, and Jesus's earthly parents did not even live in Bethlehem--God had to manipulate the political leaders of the day to call a census at that exact moment, just so that the One who later called Himself the Bread of life would be born in the "House of Bread."

See what God did there?

So here's the deal.  We can take that information and tuck it away in our brain, and go on with our Christmas shopping and baking and travelling.  Or we can heed the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:15, "Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of Peace."  We have the Good News of Jesus Christ in our hearts.  How can we best prepare our world for His peace?

One of the older carols you may hear in the next three weeks is one that says, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin in me."  Let's make preparation to share His love in the coming year, not just monetarily or materialistically.  The very best gift we could give to someone is to share the Gospel, the greatest gift God ever gave to anyone.

Let's be the light of the world that Jesus said we were in Matthew 5:14.  You may think what can one person do?  One little point of light can pierce the darkness, but a number of small lights along the path can guide someone's attention to the Son.  That is what we have been put on earth to do.  Let's prepare our hearts and minds to that end, because of the preparation God performed to introduce to us the Way to Him.