Luke 1:46-55

Remember when we were children and Christmas was approaching? To me it seemed that Christmas would never get here. The excitement and the joy were unequaled in any other day of the year. One Christmas I couldn’t wait and I opened a package early…. Another time my brother and I got up in the wee hours of the morning to see if Santa had come…. Through it all, year after year, Christmas never failed to satisfy.

We may find ourselves in our grown-up years now wondering where that went. Sure, Christmas is still fun and enjoyable, but where did the exhilaration go?

There is one joy—call it Christmas joy—that is ever new and ever satisfying.

It may be an intense experience…. But, more often, Christmas joy is sublime….

Just one touch of Christmas joy will keep us going for years….

Let me tell you about my own experience with Christmas joy

Phase one: Joy of the senses—Yahoo!

Life was for having fun. I pursued fun—denied myself no pleasure….

I never found any enjoyment lasting. Gambling was boring…. I was never any good at drinking….

I fled from responsibility—responsibility wasn’t fun!

I could see where I was headed…. Giving up on real joy; 6-pack per day; dinner and TV at night….

I learned a great lesson: without responsibility and discipline our quest for fulfillment is doomed.

So, I set my sights on the American dream—good job, fancy car, big house—I went to school….

Phase two: Joy of the ego—I’ve made it!

I threw myself into this quest—the key to the future—and I graduated 97% in class…(it’s about me).

After a few years: married, two children, two cars, nice house, great job, lots of money—Is this all?

I found myself at a crossroads: go back to sense pleasures, stay here, or move on to real joy.

Phase three: Joy of the soul—Christmas joy!

Again, responsibility and discipline are essential. Only God can give you Christmas joy….

Additionally, I have found three things essential for Christmas joy—faith, hope, and love.

Faith—fuel for the quest—because God responds only to those who earnestly seek him….

Hope—an attitude, assurance that joy is yours—because true joy puts life’s trials into perspective. God may come into a person’s dungeon to rescue, but God does not want to dwell there with you.

Love—the way, the path Jesus came to show us on the first Christmas. Love God. Love your neighbor.

It has been said that some people don’t know how to love because they have never experienced love….

Love is this—selfless desire. We have been taught that to desire something is to want it for ourselves, but love is a desire that wants only for the sake of the thing loved.

To love God because you know it pleases God—nothing else. Love our neighbor the same way, because it is good for them—nothing else….

When we love this way, God will make himself known in our souls—Christmas joy

Practical information—how do I pursue Christmas joy? Service…. Study…. Spirituality….

It is only in this joy of the soul that we find fulfillment. When it comes it is often sublime—experienced in the smile and thanks of a person helped; or in eye-opening revelation as we study; or in the pure bliss of meditation. God wants us to desire this joy for its purity, not its intensity. Just as when the God of the universe entered our world as a baby, worshiped only by shepherds. I assure you, they had Christmas joy!