Deep Joy

 

 I know some people like a bit of trivia, so here we go. As I write this, exactly 38 years ago to the day, memorabilia of Charlie Chaplin was sold at Christie’s in London. His bowler hat and cane sold for £82,000 and his boots for £38,500 – a lot of money back in 1987, (a lot of money today!).
 
So what has this to do with Advent, I hear you ask?                       ?!! So far this Advent season we have looked at Hope and Peace and now I want to look at Joy. For the person who outbid the others at that auction, there must have been a great sense of excitement and joy at acquiring those symbols from filming history. I wonder, however, just how long the joy lasts, when the buyer sees them everyday at their house. You see, there’s joy and there’s real joy. Or for those of you who remember, the actor and comedian Professor Stanley Unwin often said, to express happiness, “O deep joy” !!
 
I think the joy expressed in the Christmas period is something of a deep joy that is special and tells us something of God’s love for us. Importantly, I also feel it’s an indication of a richness and quality of life that we can all experience.
 
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi and to all believers everywhere, is expressed the whole theme of joy. You can read all four chapters of this letter in just a very short time, but I know God will speak to you through it. Each chapter expresses joy in some form even chapter 1 entitled ‘Joy in suffering’, then there is ‘joy in serving’, ‘joy in believing’ and finally, ‘joy in giving’.
 
This letter was written by Paul to express his love and affection and great sense of joy that the people of Philippi had brought him (4:1). This joyful book emphasizes the real joy of the Christian life (no long faces here) in all circumstances.
 
‘Rejoice’ or joy appears sixteen times in the four chapters with the call to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice’. (4:4)
 
May we at this Christmas time seek to know Jesus Christ more and more and find a new and living joy in knowing the Babe at Bethlehem, the King of kings. Amen.