The Announcement of Joy
In the Christmas story, so many people felt joy around Jesus’ birth announcement. It shows that joy is a communal experience not just individual.
Transcript
INTRO
This morning, we’re continuing our Christmas Joy series, and today we’re talking about collective joy. The Christmas joy we experience is a communal experience we all share. Christmas joy is an individual experience that only you or I only get to experience, but it’s something we all get to experience.
THE COLLECTIVE JOY THAT WE SHARE
And this past week, most of us might have experienced a sense of that to one degree or another. Many of us may have experienced the communal sorrow with the loss of Tou Ger Xiong, a prominent Hmong figure in our community. As tragic as this was, we also experienced a sense of collective joy reflecting on all the wonderful memories of Tou Ger and the impact he made to the community. Please keep his friend and family in your prayers as they continue to process all of this. We have RiverLife family who is connected to him in various ways.
Other places where I experience communal joy from the communities that I am a part of. I have a bit of an obsession with sneakers and this past Friday, a pair of Kobes came out. Kobe Bryant’s death has made his shoes sought-after and when any sought-after shoes come out, Nike has a raffle system where you submit what size you want along with payment information so if you’re selected you automatically purchase them. Individuals in some of the sneaker groups that I’m a part of erupted with joy posting the news of being selected while others chimed in on the thread by sharing their news of being chosen too. I’m sure you could probably relate to this with your own communities that share a common interest.
A couple summer ago, Sunisa Lee won gold at the Olympics and I think every one of us felt a sense of the collective joy in celebrating her accomplishments. We shared the joy that she was a Hmong person from Minnesota who won a gold medal at the highest level. She was recognized as one of the best in the world. Some of you might have celebrated this joy by posting it on your social media pages, attending her parade, or enrolling your kids in gymnastics!
One of my all-time favorite moments experiencing collective joy was when Avengers: End Game came out. If you’re into the MCU movies, this was the highly anticipated sequel to Avengers: Infinity War where Thanos, the main antagonist, won after he snapped his finger and half of all the living things in the universe were exterminated including some beloved superheroes like Groot, Drax, and Spider-Man. I can still feel the weight of hopelessness in that scene. When the sequel came out I couldn’t wait to see what would and I was not disappointed. I remember the moment in Avengers: End Game where Captain America, almost defeated, struggled to get on his feet. With a blood-stained face and broken shield, he takes a final stand against Thanos and his entire army. Suddenly the voice of Falcon, a hero that was exterminated, comes through Captain America’s earpiece, but it gets cut with some static. In dramatic fashion, all the heroes that were exterminated return to Captain America’s side. And if your theater experience wasn’t like this, something was wrong with the people who watched End Game with you.
I still get chills when I watch this video because it brings me back to that moment where I shared in the collective joy and excitement with others.
COLLECTIVE JOY IN 2023
The emotions of collective joy is amazing, but in the last few years COVID has prevented us from being able to experience collective joy. We’ve had to be isolated in our own homes and spaces. But, thankfully, this year, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared the pandemic no longer a public health emergency. This doesn’t mean COVID is over, but the greater population has developed immunity and we’ve seen improvements in care and lower rates of hospitalization and death. This has led us to return to some semblance of what was once normal. This has allowed for some notable experiences that have created a sense of collective joy this year. Experiences like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Barbie have been some of the most notable.
Pastor Greg and I first caught wind of this when Christianity Today published an article titled “Barbie and Taylor Swift Are Bringing Us Together” in August of 2023.
Washington Post (How the Music of Summer Is Healing the Nation) and NPR (How Three Female Artists Lead This Summer's Billion-Dollar Pop Culture Revival) have put out similar articles too talking about how these 3 iconic women have helped other women in the United States capture a sense of unity and belonging while society has experienced much polarization over political parties, pandemic regulations, race and racial relationships, etc. Writers have suggested that despite the high costs of attending these events, people have found value in them because they have brought people together not just to be entertained but to also experience the joy of what it means to be human and live life together with our struggles.
And interestingly, there is a parallel that these major events in 2023 have with Christmas. If we take Christmas and peel away Santa, presents, decorations, peppermint-flavored candy and drinks, celebrations, and music, we find that Christmas offers insight, especially to the believer, into what it means to be human and how to live with each other with our struggles. But before anyone gets to dive into the answers to those questions, they first experience the joy. We see this when the angels announce the birth of Jesus to two unique groups of people.
COMMUNAL JOY AND THE MAGI
First, the Magi and then the shepherds. Let me read to you the account of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-2, 10. This is what it says,
“1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
The Magi or wise men were some sort of religious astrologers or priests from the Persian area, modern-day Iran. They walked at least 900 miles to Jerusalem and another 5 miles to Bethlehem to witness the joy of baby Jesus, who was born to be the king of Jews. 900 miles is about the same distance as here to Nashville, TN. And in the short time that I’ve spent in Nashville, I discovered the joy of Nashville hot chicken. As much as I like Nashville hot chicken, I don’t think I’d be willing to walk 900 miles for it let alone 9 blocks. I don’t know if I’d even drive 19 minutes for it, but it was important enough for the Magi to walk 900 miles. There was a joyful expectation in this prophecy of a promised king. The Magi wanted to see and worship Jesus.
Bible scholars also believe that the Magi were aware of this prophecy they were made aware of the Old Testament prophecies when Jews were exiled in Persia. And a bit of a side note, but here’s a neat perspective about the star that they followed. Some commentaries suggest that the star was a coincidental natural phenomenon like a comet or supernova that happened to occur the same time Jesus was born signifying to the Magi that something special was happening. Others suggest that it wasn’t coincidence, but rather the star was an angel guiding the Magi to Jesus. Scripture refers to angels as stars. Some references are:
This makes sense because it draws parallels with the Old Testament when an angel guided Moses and the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. And logically, if you think about it, the Magi traveled from the east to the west. The earth’s rotation causes the sun and stars to move east to west so there had to be something unique to help guide the Magi to Jesus otherwise they would followed stars farther east, away from Jesus. This was God’s intentional interaction with them to bring them to Jesus.
When they saw the star over the place where Jesus stayed, they were overjoyed and when they saw Jesus they bowed down and worshiped him by offering gifts fit for a king. Although we don’t quite know who the Magi exactly are, whether they are kings, priests, astrologers, or magicians they had some level of privilege being able to directly connect with King Herod who was interested in Jesus and their privilege was also evident based on their luxurious gifts.
COMMUNAL JOY AND THE SHEPHERDS
Earlier, I mentioned how Taylor Swift’s concerts have been a major experience of collective joy this year. Reports have shown that the average ticket price for her Eras Tours was $1,100. It takes a certain amount of privilege to experience the joy that Taylor Swift brings, but what’s amazing about the collective joy that Jesus offers is that it was and is available to anyone. It wasn’t limited to those who could afford it based on their privilege or their financial ability, but this collective joy was given to all. In Luke 2:8-20 we hear the collective joy from the shepherds. Let me read it for us.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Shepherds were the most average group of people you could have in society. In our world today, I’d imagine shepherds being the equivalent of cashiers at the stores we go to for groceries and clothes. They were lowly and humble. If the shepherds wanted to experience collective joy at a Taylor Swift concert, it would be a really big stretch on their finances. It might mean that they would risk not having enough money for their needs like rent, gas, or groceries. And if they could afford seats, it’d be the nosebleed section.
But God…but God in His graciousness sent his angels to the shepherds while they are on their shift, out in the fields watching sheep, and informs them of the good news that their Savior has been born. Not to just anyone, but to them. Luke describes the shepherds as terrified when they saw the angel, but their fear turns into joy as they get a personal performance from the angels who show up in their humble fields praising God. Their collective joy causes them to rush into town to see baby Jesus, their long-awaited savior. When they see Jesus they can’t help, but share this experience with everyone in town, and then return to their savior by glorifying and praising God for all they heard and saw. The collective joy in Jesus wasn’t just for the wealthy and privileged. It wasn’t just for those who could afford it, but the collective joy in Jesus was meant for everyone.
APPLICATION
This collective joy is meant for everyone to experience. It isn’t meant for just you and me to experience in secret. It was meant for all of us to experience together. It was meant for everyone. And God chose some of the most likely and least like to be the very first to experience this joy. The greatest joy that we can experience is understanding the truth that Jesus Christ was born for all of us so we can be rescued from everything and anything that harms us.
Let me pray for us.