Star of Joy

 

a precursor to

 

Do you know what Joy is?
Maybe you've been happy or excited or even content, but do you know Joy?
Lets jump into the third Sunday of Advent and find out what we are in for this morning.
Our scriptural focus is set in the book of Matthew as we hear the story of wise men and gifts.

Enjoy this musical selection to go with the message today.

 Its a story that we will cover more in depth on Christmas Eve.
These men come a great distance in order to find a child they believe to be the new King of Israel. Traveling possibly from as far away as Persia, this is a walk/hike cross country. by the time they reach the baby Jesus he more than likely about 2 years old. They have been following a star. This star led them all the way to Israel. How long the trek takes is not clear or certain. But, it definitely was not a simply half day walk. I have shared in the past about Joseph and Mary's walk to Bethlehem and also the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, which most likely was a 7 mile stroll for those men and the Savior. This is a much longer walk. Using our technology available to us at Google Maps, we can find out just how long of a trip these three men were taking. If they were coming from Persepolis, then the capital of Persia (which today is Iran) their trek, most likely, would have taken then on a northwestern route before cutting straight across the heart of Iraq and its capital of Baghdad (which in ancient time would have been Babylon) before coming through the southern portion Syria and then taking a southern route into the northern part of Israel. Driving it, our friends at Google say it can be done in 27 hours. But, we know these men were on foot. 

Clicking on the walking symbol as we use Google Maps for directions shows that the cross country journey would taken a total of 437 hours. That's around 18 and a half days. More than half a month to get there without stopping. With the need for sleep and rest and food, the trip more than likely took these men around a month to get there. However, the scriptures show that they did not arrive in Bethlehem until he is around two years old. When exactly did the star appear? How long did the trip truly take for them? Some details will never be perfectly clear. Some mystery is necessary in order to draw us into the reality of the Savior's birth. I would plead the case that we don't need to know every little detail. What we need to do is believe. That's what drives these three men. Belief that a new ruler has arisen in Israel. Why they feel the need to go so far away from their home on foot to greet a new king who isn't even of their country or, most likely, their belief system, is also a mystery. Some mysteries are wrapped up in joy. Its about time we looked at the word itself and understood what we are getting ourselves into this morning.

The scripture from Matthew suggests that the men were "overjoyed" at the sight of the toddler. But, why? What was it about this little boy that caused them to rejoice or be glad? Do we truly understand what joy is? These men who have traveled all this way are believers, plan and simple. We don't understand their full story and we don't have to. All we need to know is that they believe in the coming of this Messiah. And, they have come a really long way to see it with their own eyes. The definition from Merriam Webster suggests that joy is "the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires". We covered hope and understood that it is transitive in nature. More than one person can have hope and it seems to transfer. As we covered peace we noted the intransitive nature of it. I cannot give you peace. It is something you seem to have to seek and find for yourself. Joy is noted as being both transitive and intransitive. I can experience "great pleasure or delight", but I can't give to someone else. In the difficulty of explaining such an experience as joy we find there is a transitive nature to it. But, look at the wording here. It's an archaic notion that says "gladden, enjoy". It suggests a different kind of transference. With hope we seemed to simply declare that we have it and someone else declares they have it and then we find that it goes between others. Joy is more than a declaration. There truly has to be something going on between the parties to experience joy as a community of peoples. The story is told of a little boy who went into a 5 and Dime store and asked for two pieces of hard candy. The shop owner noted that the boy was by himself, so why did he need two pieces of candy. The boy exclaimed, "So, I have one to share with someone else." Joy is like that. Jesus, walking with these twelve men for those three and a half years finds joy being with them. 

There are conditions to be met with joy. We need to follow and listen. If our parents are to have joy in us, we need to listen to what they have to say and follow the direction they give. If we care at all about sharing in joy, we need to be around other people and not make it about ourselves and what we want. Joy is simply shared between other when we just enjoy being in the presence of others. I would plead the case that this country has found it hard to feel much joy since the attacks of 9/11 20 years ago. It has been hard to have hope. It has been even harder to find peace. And, there isn't much joy because we have the harder task of feeling comfortable around other people; trusting that they have our backs while we should have theirs. 

What does it mean then to be "overjoyed"?
I think of the words to song by the foursome known as Jars of Clay. 

You named me
Who am I
That I should company with
Something so divine
Mercy waits
Overjoyed
Prospects of finding freeing
Freeing me

Love is the thing this time I'm sure
And I couldn't need you more now
The way that you saw things were so pure
Overjoyed     - Jars of Clay, Overjoyed (from the album "Much Afraid") [1997]

 

Jesus said to his disciples that if they needed anything to ask in His Name and they would have it. Jesus claimed that if they kept his commands, there would be love to experience and they would know his joy. Jesus' joy came from doing what they Father asked of him. It was a delight for the Son to listen to the Father and work along side of him, doing what the Father wanted.  The Son forgot about what He wanted and gave his life for the direction the Father pointed him in. Joy is condition in the sense that we forget about ourselves. That we give of ourselves to "gladden" someone else. It means that we "enjoy" being with other for their benefit, not ours. I challenge to to find out what joy is in this season. It might be the one thing you truly are missing.