Great joy: Jesus Christ is born

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

What a shock to the shepherds, because suddenly there is that angel before them. So in the middle of the night, the angel from heaven, who tells the shepherds his message from God. What a wonderful sight would have been, for the glory of the Lord shone around them. It happens to us, of course, not every day that an angel comes to you and not just, but also one that lets shined around us by the glory of the Lord. Moses had seen his face hardened when he came back to the people. And so it is with the shepherds not.

But that is not the most important, because the angel has a message! He has them to preach, to tell something very beautiful thing! He proclaims them great joy! It is not a normal message from heaven, but the message is joy. You should not be afraid, because my message is joy, the angel says. I'm going to tell you something that makes you happy, but the message itself is also joy. No snags, no buts, but only joy.

And what is that joy then? Jesus Christ was born, the Saviour. He promised long ago by God has come to earth to save the people. The misery is over, the time of waiting is over, the break with God will be healed and evil will be overcome again. God comes to earth as a man, and you will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The Messiah is so close to you, you can visit him and bring him his glory. Do not be afraid, but rejoice!

We often tend to see again the negative here. Jesus lies in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. So he is in a stable and not in a palace. We can create an entire musical of how sad it all is and how pathetic. But the angel speaks only of great joy. He talks about anything negative, but he talks about the Savior. Be happy you, for I bring you joy. Jesus is joy, that's the message.

And then we should also be pleased with the shepherds and make ourselves humble. For the great Savior came to earth and now we may hear this Good News: Jesus was born. And yes, he is born for us in a manger and he is wrapped in swaddling clothes for us, but it is pure joy that He came out of love for us.

It's just joy when we believe, when we lay our hearts in the crib and let Jesus reign over us. It is beatific joy when we see how great Jesus is and how He is the King over all the earth. It's just joy when we seek Him along with the shepherds and let fill us with that message. Then it's a blessed Christmas. Then we can despite all the misery in our lives yet know the joy that comes with Christmas. Because the fact is: behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy because He is born Jesus the Savior!

I wish you all a blessed Christmas around the manger. And be filled with joy, for He is joy!