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

Did you know that an article from Christianity Today last Summer inspired this series: Christmas Joy? Let me explain.

Back in August, I ran across this article, “Barbie and Taylor Swift Are Bringing Us Together.” It highlighted these two women-led summer juggernauts that created frenzies we hadn’t seen since before the pandemic. Stadiums and movie theaters were filled with groups of people, many wearing Swiftie-style or Barbie pink—laughing, singing, and being weird together.

Washington Post columnist Justine McDonald described it as a “release of pandemic emotions” and “a palpable longing for both communal delight and catharsis.”

Then, the article introduced a term that has fascinated me ever since… collective joy. Collective joy describes the phenomenon where a large group of people experience and express happiness, excitement, and satisfaction together. Think of concerts, sporting events, or the state fair.

Collective joy has always been a part of the human experience through religious ceremonies, festivals, and cultural events. It’s also something the pandemic took from us, leaving even the most introverted of us longing for a little social interaction… maybe. But hey, I wouldn’t mind a drive-through baby shower if it meant I didn’t have to eat baby food ever again.

Through the lens of collective joy, the hysteria around the Eras Tour makes sense. Groups dressing in pink and seeing Barbie in the theater make sense.

Even Pang Foua and I saw it at the recent Hmong New Year. As we walked around, it had a different vibe. There was an energy, an excitement. There were more young people than in the past. More people were dressed in Hmong outfits. It was different. It was collective joy, something we all have been craving, and it made the Hmong New Year the best one we had ever attended.

COLLECTIVE JOY IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY

So, when I started to prep for this series, I began to see collective joy all over the Christmas story. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say it was essential to it.

Last week, I argued that the Christmas story illustrates that there is joy in humility.

This week, I want to discuss the premise that Joy is a communal experience, not just an individual one.

• Angels appeared individually to Mary and Joseph, but they didn’t experience joy until they shared their vision with one another.

• When Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, who was also pregnant, said that her baby “leaped for joy” at Mary’s presence.

• The magi traveled and worshiped the promised king together.

THE SHEPHERDS

But there’s one group that best illustrates the collective joy of Christmas.

That’s the shepherds. That humble group living outdoors and caring for sheep. In their experience, which you heard earlier, we see three aspects of joy that make it so communal.

• Joy is supernatural.

• Joy is shared.

• Joy is served.

JOY IS SUPERNATURAL

Let’s start with joy is supernatural. The source of the best, life-changing joy is always God. This is joy that sticks with you deep in your soul.

The collective joy of the shepherds began in an encounter with God. An ordinary, silent night was interrupted by an angel and an explosion of God’s glory. The shepherds were terrified, and the angel said this:

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.

Good news… that brings great joy. Only in God can the joy you experience exceed the news you receive. The news is GOOD, but the joy is GREAT. That’s supernatural.

What’s so good about that news? Our Savior, Messiah, and Lord has come down to our lowly world. He has stooped down to become one of us.

BTW, that is one of the best Christological statements in Scripture. Jesus is Savior, Messiah, and Lord.

• Savior – Jesus is the only one who can save you from sin and its consequences and provide you a path back to God.

• Messiah or Christ – This means that Jesus is the Anointed One that God promised would deliver Israel and bring about peace and righteousness.

• Lord – This is a substitute for Yahweh, the name of God, signifying full authority and divinity.

That’s the supernatural source of all this joy.

According to anthropologists who study collective joy, it always involves something bigger than just the participants.

Think of the last concert you attended. Now, picture it without the band, and it’s just some guy on stage streaming music from his phone. Not the same.

Last Friday, Pang Foua and I saw Pagnia Xiong at the Ordway. She was incredible! At one moment, in her closing song, she belted out a note, and the crowd erupted. You don’t get that watching YouTube. In that moment, something larger-than-life was happening. That’s collective joy.

By the way, that’s our very own Kenny Lee on bass, playing in her band.

At the concert, it was Pagnia’s amazing voice, stage presence, and outfits that elevated that experience into something joyful. But for the Christmas story, it was God. The best joy is always supernatural. That’s something the shepherds learned that night. And that’s why I always encourage you to expect to experience God in church—because joy is supernatural.

Joy is Shared

Another thing we see from the shepherds is that joy is shared. In fact, psychologists identify that as one of the major differences between happiness and joy. Happiness is often individual, but joy is communal. This is especially true here in America, where we’re obsessed with personal, individual happiness.

In contrast, we see with the shepherds that their joy didn’t stay with them. Yes, it started with…

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.”

But when they got there and set their eyes on the Savior, Messiah, and Lord baby Jesus, it was no longer about them. They couldn’t keep their joy inside.

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.

There was something about encountering Jesus that made them want to run all around Bethlehem and tell people about it. They wanted to share their joy about this little baby who was God—Savior, Messiah, and Lord. And did you notice the people’s responses? They were amazed!

You can think of joy as a travel mug or a spray bottle. Travel mug joy – you get to carry around for yourself, and when life gets hard, you just take a little sip. Quench your thirst; wash down your lunch. But you don’t often see people sharing their Yeti.

Or you can have spray bottle joy. There’s only one reason you keep something in a spray bottle—to spray it out, to share it. We are meant to be so filled with joy that we share it with others.

Joy is Served

Now, if I stopped here, where joy is supernatural and joy is shared, it could sound a lot like other secular approaches to joy.

But there is one more part of joy that is uniquely Christian. No other religion and worldview extends joy to this step. Only Jesus Christ calls his followers to do more with their joy. What is this next step?

Joy is served.

What do I mean by that? It’s not like a restaurant that says “breakfast is served.” It’s not an awesomely bad 90s dance movie. But I would watch the heck out of that movie! “You just got served… joy…. Boyeeee!”

No. When I say “joy is served” it means that Jesus called us not just to share our joy with others but to serve others out of our joy.

It begins with the angel’s pronouncements that we read earlier:

• “Good news of great joy…”

• “Peace to those on whom his favor rests…”

But what does that mean? What does it look like? To answer that, we have to wait for Jesus to live. We have to see his love for the outcasts, his embrace of the poor, and his humility in the face of opposition.

To understand this aspect of Jesus, we turn to Philippians 2, a passage we looked at briefly last week.

1 Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

This is why following Jesus is different than anything else you could commit yourself to. The Bible calls us to make our joy complete by valuing others above ourselves, abandoning selfishness and our need to impress others. In our joy, we take the role of a servant to others.

That’s what it looks like when joy is served.

APPLICATION

Joy is supernatural. Joy is shared. Joy is served.

As we wrap up, let me show you how these three simple statements can counter three common joy thieves of Christmas.

First… (supernatural)

• Joy is found in the gifts you give or receive. No, they’ll eventually break, won’t fit anymore, or get put in a closet.

• Joy is found in time off from work. You gotta go back in January.

• Joy is found in family. They’ll get on your nerves, eventually… or maybe right away.

• Joy is found in me. Really? Have you been with you lately. Maybe not the best strategy.

All of those are okay, even good, and bring short-term happiness, maybe even a little joy. But the best joy is supernatural. It comes from an infinite God who never changes and always lives in abundance, not scarcity.

Next… (shared)

• Joy is found by yourself. I need time away from people.

• Joy is doing things for yourself. I’m so tired, wounded, stressed; I should treat myself.

• Joy is staying private. People are too much. I’ll just keep things to myself.

Nah… Sometimes self-care is important, even needed. But true joy comes when we share it, when we share ourselves, with others.

Lastly, (served)

• Joy is feeding my interests.

• Joy is watching out for #1.

• Joy is having other serve me.

Don’t fool yourself. Those only feed ego and selfishness. Joy is meant to serve others.

CLOSING

In the coming weeks, you have some wonderful opportunities for collective joy. Yes, there will be difficult times and difficult people. Yes, there might even be some collective grief as well.

But there will be opportunities for joy as well.

• Joy that comes from God, when we meditate on him.

• Joy that is generously shared with others.

• Joy that serves others in unexpected ways.

So, let me ask you, this Christmas, will you store your joy in a travel mug, keeping it for yourself and about yourself? Or will you fill a spray bottle with joy from God and humbly share it with others?

How you answer that question will shape your next 8 days.