The story goes about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the elevator door opened. It was full.

The occupants of the elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.”

We need to remember who is responsible for the whole Christmas thing. It is really all about how God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that who ever believes in Him might have eternal life. John 3:16

And while the nativity tableau’s are all about the baby Jesus, and Christmas day is all about the baby Jesus, unless we remember the wisdom from the back of the elevator, that the one who was born grew up, will be crucified and raised from the dead, our faith will also remain in infancy.

The first gospel writers and early Christians actually didn’t pay any attention to the story of Jesus’ birth – that came later as Christians and the church thought more about what it meant for God to be born as a human.

The first followers of Jesus were more concerned with what Jesus had said about him coming back at the end of time. From the 27 books of the New Testament (after Jesus was born) there are only 2 that make mention of his birth: Matthew and Luke.

In the Gospel of Mark – no Christmas story
In the Gospel of John – no Christmas story
In all the writings of Paul – no Christmas story

So this morning we have the Gospel of Mark in which the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ… begins with John the Baptist preparing people for Jesus coming – as an adult – again, not as a baby.

And the Good News is something very particular – you see the word good news was euongelion. In the first century in the Middle East, when there had been a military battle and victory, the general would send word back to the capital, by sending a messenger – a runner – with a scroll which had the word euongelion at the top. And, as he ran back home, he’d run through the villages on the way, and would run through the town square shouting EUONGELION. And everyone would know that this meant that there had been a VICTORY.

And that’s the word for today for us! VICTORY! The gospel starts with the end – there has been a victory – and his name is Jesus. And knowing how it ends, has a profound effect on how we understand the beginning.

My favorite sport to watch on TV is tennis – only one of the four major tournaments is in the same time zone as us, so I usually record the matches and then watch when I can. But when I happen to know who won the match, it completely changes my experience of watching it. When the winner is down and in a slump, I don’t worry. It removes the tension and the stress….

Imagine that? Having the stress and worry removed!

If what or who we’re preparing for is Jesus, if Christ has already come, and the Good News – the victory – is on the table, then what’s left?

How shall we prepare? How will we celebrate? This year, I suggest we make JOY the word of the season and the center of our preparations.

And Joy to the World, our Candle Carol, is a lot like our reading from Mark this morning. It also actually has nothing to do with the Christmas season.

It will always be found in hymnals in the Advent section, NOT in the Christmas section; and if you look closely you’ll notice that it never mentions Jesus or his birth or any of the images/characters we expect to find in our Christmas carols. It is a more generic hymn of praise than related to a particular season.

Its theme, while definitely NOT referencing our Lord’s first coming, Christmas, is actually about the Lord’s second coming at the end of the age, and is based on Psalm 98.

And yet, Joy to the World has its place firmly in the Christmas Canon.
So for these three Sundays before Christmas, we’ll make our way through the verses of Joy to the World as our text for the season this year – our recipe for Joy.

Two ingredients today – first – THERE IS JOY WHEN THE KING IS RECEIVED

Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her king;
let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.

Historically, we know that not everyone was joyful when Jesus was born. King Herod was anything but joyful when the Magi from the East inquired about the birthplace of a new King. To Herod, Jesus was a threat. Herod was already so paranoid about someone trying to usurp his throne that he had murdered three of his own sons. He was not about to tolerate a rival king … even if that king was just a baby.

Think of how different the Wise Men were from Herod.

The Magi who traveled from the east were not Jews, but had heard the prophecies of Daniel, a Jewish prophet who was in Babylon. And quite simply – they believed what the prophets said, and traveled to Jerusalem when the stars had literally aligned just so.

They received Jesus as their king and brought him kingly gifts, even before they had met him.

Do we see Jesus as a threat to our plans like Herod? Or actively seek him as the wise men did? 2

Receiving him – preparing room in our hearts for him means we make choices that put Christ first. And putting Christ first, means putting other things second and third….

Secondly, THERE IS JOY WHEN THE SAVIOR REIGNS

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding Joy.

Receiving Christ is the important first ingredient. But then we must go on to let him Reign in our lives. While he was living here on earth, Jesus encountered large crowds who were ready and willing to receive him. But they were not all ready to let him take charge. They wanted Him to do things their way … not the other way around.

Too often we are more than willing to receive all the good things Christ wants to offer us. But we don’t want Him to actually take charge of our lives.

Because if He did, He might do things a little differently than we do them. Or ask us to do things differently….

Like change our priorities
Or make decisions that don’t go along with how everybody else does things
or listen, really listen, to people who disagree with us, without jumping to conclusions or speak lovingly, when we all we want to do is yell
or to not speak disrespectfully about someone on facebook, or share that snippy meme or say, I’m sorry

or, I was wrong

Too often we’re flying along at breakneck speed, doing things – doing life – the way we always have, without a thought for Jesus and His desires for us.

And that’s during the less frantic 11 months of the year. So here we are just into December, with the 25th looming as a pretty hard deadline. Let’s face it; Christmas is a stressful time for most adults.

And at its best, Christmas means parties to attend and plan, gifts to buy, elaborate meals to cook, long trips to take, or out-of-town guests to host. Then add on top of that the fact that for some it is a time of intense loneliness or crushing grief because of a loved one who is gone. Instead of bringing JOY, Christmas can bring frustration.

And here we are each week, singing Joy to the World! And that’s because genuine joy, does not depend on what’s happening. Joy is an inner sense of well-being that has nothing to do with circumstance. The kind of JOY the Bible describes can’t be found in presents or parties or even by looking deeply into your inner self.

In the same way that your body craves food, exercise and rest, your Spirit craves a relationship with God. Without that relationship, your soul will become famished and restless. I believe that there is indeed a God-shaped hole in every person. That when we look deeply within ourselves, we don’t find a source of joy, but rather a space that only God can fill.

And if we try to fill it with anything besides God, we will be forever unsatisfied.
When we RECEIVE Christ without also letting Him REIGN in our life, we miss out on the JOY.

Remember, the good news of Christmas is not the birth of a baby, but the death and resurrection of Jesus. The only reason we celebrate Christmas is because of Easter.

And because of Easter, we know who wins! We can declare VICTORY – EUONGELION – GOOD NEWS!

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding Joy.

Repeat the sounding Joy!

Amen.