The moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
Luke 1:44
It is often said that Christmas is for children. The Santa traditions, stockings, flying reindeer all make Christmas a delight for children. Maybe this is because children innately experience joy. They are by nature joyful. Maybe it’s because years of life experience has not made them skeptical and cynical. I don’t know. But it seems that joy is closer to the surface with children.
When our daughter, Angela, was 5, she had to have an operation. We took her to All Children’s Hospital. She was to have the surgery and then recover in the hospital for 5-7 days. As it turned out, she had an infection and so the doctor was unable to perform the surgery. It would have to be postponed at least a month. The whole situation had been very stressful for the parents. We were worried. We were anxious. The idea of waiting and going through this all again was just too much! We were distraught. We waited for Angela to come out of the anesthesia, and then we told her simply that the operation could not be performed today and we would have to come back in a month. She was ecstatic. “You mean we get to go home?” “Yes.” “Now? Today?” “Yes.” She was jubilant. We thought maybe she didn’t understand that we would have to come back. The procedure was being postponed, not cancelled. She still repeated, “But we get to go home now.” “Yes.” That was all she needed to know. She was so happy. Joyful, really. Today we were going home. She was about to head out of the hospital today, not in 5 days. She was thrilled. She would not let anticipation of the future cloud her joy of the moment. She would not let what may or may not be ahead diminish her delight.
Children remind us to take joy in the moment. They can be crying one minute and laughing the next. Right now there is reason for joy, why let the past interfere, or the unknown future. Don’t miss the joy now. Be ready to change your mood or attitude instantly. Expect joy to be lurking just ahead. You never know!
Take a moment to think about how you have seen joy in children lately. The children and youth of our church family are a wonderful source of joy for the entire congregation! That’s a great place to start thinking about how children experience joy.
In the scripture from Luke, the angel Gabriel has visited Mary, and Mary has gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary arrives, Elizabeth greets her with great joy. The child within her, who will be John the Baptizer who prepares the way for Jesus, leaps in her womb. The baby expresses joy. And so does Elizabeth and then Mary. It is a beautiful scene filled with the joy of these two expectant mothers and their babies.
The Gospel writer knows the ending of the story: How Jesus will die a humiliating, excruciating death on a cross as a traitor. But the pain ahead does not diminish the joy of the beginning of the story.
As we think of bringing joy to children at Christmas with gifts and holiday traditions, let’s not forget to let children bring joy us, show us the joy of life, and lead us to take delight in the moment. May we be infected by the joy of children and young people this Christmas season and always.
Prayer
Children are a great gift and have much to teach and share. May we care for the children of our families, our communities, and our world, so that they can make their full contribution to the world as children. May we appreciate all they bring and not just see them as workers-in-training to be cogs in the great wheel of economic production. May we, as adults, tend their bodies and spirits, and let them tend our souls. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, may we work to take care of all children as we would seek to care for Jesus. And may we open ourselves to be infused with their joy! Amen.
The theme for this Advent season at Lakewood United Church of Christ is JOY to the World. Each day during the Advent season, a reflection on a scripture passage related to JOY will be posted. We hope these daily reflections help you to have a joy-filled Advent.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 