Joy To The World
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series I, Cycle B
Open the hymnals. Pull out the stops on the organ, for we are going to sing a song. What song shall we sing? We could sing Martin Luther's hymn of the Reformation, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Maybe a hymn by Charles Wesley, such as "And Can It Be," would express how we feel about our Christian faith. We might want to consider something on a little more feeling level like Joseph M. Scriven's "What A Friend We Have In Jesus," or Fanny J. Crosby's "To God Be The Glory."
No, let's not sing any of these. Instead, let's sing a song about Christmas. "Wait a minute! Did I hear you correctly? You want to sing a Christmas carol? Don't you realize that Christmas is over? Don't you think maybe it is time to put the carols away for another year?"
It's time to sing a Christmas carol. What carol should we sing? Shall we sing Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," or Joseph Mohr's "Silent Night, Holy Night"? Maybe Edmund Hamilton Sears' "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" would be appropriate. Perhaps Charles Wesley's "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" is the Christmas carol we should be singing.
The Christmas carol that we need to sing on this Lord's Day is by Isaac Watts. It is "Joy To The World." "Why this carol?" you ask. It expresses the sentiment of the Old Testament lesson which is from Isaiah 61:10--62:3. This is a jubilant song of praise which is sung to give God glory for his redeeming grace. The dominant theme of this song is "joy." Hence, let's open our hymnals and sing to the top of our lungs:
Joy to the World!
The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods,
rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
The prophet is so excited about what God has done that he cannot contain his joy. God has delivered his people, thus ...
The Prophet Shouts For Joy
The sad fact is that not everyone could celebrate. The children of Israel prior to this moment were in mourning. Doubt and despair had overwhelmed them. All of their social and religious activities were like attendance at a funeral. This will soon all be changed, for the children of Israel will celebrate a wedding rather than mourn at a funeral.
Why has the whole mood changed? It is because the people are now rejoicing in their God. Why is there so much joy when there had been doom and gloom everywhere? God has given his people a new status, which is highlighted by new clothing. God himself has put this new clothing on his people. God clothes the whole person -- body, soul, and spirit -- with the garments of salvation.
The story is told about Betty Hutton, a former movie star and box office attraction of the late '40s and '50s. Hutton fell on hard times and battled alcoholism and depression. A few years ago she encountered God and invited him into her life. God turned her life around and headed her in a different direction. She started on the trail to a comeback. Hutton joined the cast of the Broadway musical Annie, playing the role of Mrs. Hannigan. Those who were in attendance at the first performance noted the extensive biographical sketches of the members of the cast. However, under the picture of Betty Hutton there was no elaborate sketch. Instead, there appeared five words which Hutton had written herself. Those words were: "I'm back. Thanks to God."
The children of Israel were back in their own land, thanks to God, and this was cause for joy. This joy was expressed in the language of a wedding as the bride and bridegroom themselves are clothed in garments of salvation. It was true that Israel had sinned and broken her covenant relationship with God. Yet, God has forgiven her sin and cleansed her soul. This is the reason for Israel's joy.
The spirit conveyed in Isaiah 61:10-11 is the spirit of celebration, which God desires in his Church today. The Church is his bride, clothed in the garments of righteousness and radiant with his glory.
When the church is truly his bride, she can sing with Issac Watts:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
And wonders, and wonders of his love.
It's time for us to shout, "Joy to the World!" The prophet is also shouting because of ...
The Joy Of Restoration
A very close friend of mine made a nostalgic visit to his hometown, which is a county seat. When he was a boy, the downtown of this county seat came alive on Saturday. When the farmers had finished all of their chores, they came to town. From 4 o'clock in the afternoon until 8 p.m. the sidewalks and stores were packed with people laughing, talking, and shopping. Coming to town was a big deal on Saturday. Downtown was a place to share the latest stories, catch up on the news, and hear the latest gossip. It was downtown that one heard the news of a baby on its way or a person near the point of death. Engagements were announced downtown by the simple showing of a ring on a girl's hand. People sat on their cars, stood next to the stores, congregated in small eating establishments, or stood in the aisles of the stores to greet each other and talk of life, death, and the future. Teenagers made definite plans to meet downtown on Saturday. Many courtships were carried out downtown. Neighbors would ask their friends during the week, "Are you going downtown Saturday?" A royal treat for a child was to get to go downtown.
On his visit, my friend went downtown and discovered that downtown now only existed in his memory. The stores and shops that he frequented are now closed and hardly anyone goes downtown anymore. The town has moved south, and everything revolves around small strip malls, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and a Super Kroger. For all practical purposes, downtown is dead and buried. Not many people go downtown anymore.
There is something sad about a town becoming deserted. It's eerie! You can easily find a place to park. Buildings are empty, beckoning for someone to put them to use again and restore them to their original intention.
This is nothing compared to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was deserted. The strong walls, which had held back invading armies for years, had been pulled down. The Holy Temple, the house of God, had been desecrated and was now only a shell. The Babylonians had razed the city and carted off the citizens to a distant land.
After years in exile, the people were returning home to a land that was devastated. They were resolved to begin the task of rebuilding. Soon cracks of doubt became evident because of the perception that God was indifferent. The people wondered if all the talk about God coming as redeemer was accurate. What the people needed was a fresh vision of a glorious future.
In chapter 62:1-3, we suddenly hear God's voice. God is no longer silent and these three verses are a sign of fresh resolve on God's part. God will remain active and engaged until Jerusalem has been vindicated and rescued from oppression.
The message of Christmas is that God has not remained silent, for in Jesus Christ the silence has been broken. With the coming of Christ there is the promise of restoration and renewal. This causes us to respond, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come." Just as our Sovereign Lord came to those surveying the ruins of their land as they returned from exile, so he comes to us who are estranged and exiled from him. It is his desire to make us whole and complete and to bring us joy which is a product of his coming.
Just as God desired to restore the joy of those ancient exiles, so he desires to restore our joy which has been stolen by Satan who is totally committed to our joylessness. C. S. Lewis, in The Screw-tape Letters, depicts for us the devil's view of joy. The Screwtape Letters are a series of letters from senior devil Screwtape to Wormwood, his nephew who is a demon in training. Screwtape offers a wide range of advice from how to distract people from coming to Christ and how to keep those who come to Christ from being effective and productive.
In one letter to Wormwood, Screwtape writes about joy. (In his letters, "the Enemy" always means God). He writes to Wormwood:
Fun is closely related to joy -- a sort of emotional froth arising from the play instinct. It is of little use to us. It can sometimes be used, of course, to deviate humans from something else which the enemy should like them to be feeling or doing; but in itself it has wholly undesirable tendencies; it promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils.
After discussing some other issues, Screwtape gets around to joy:
You will see joy among friends and lovers reunited at the eve of a holiday. Among adults some pretext in the way of jokes is usually provided, but the facility with which even the smallest witticisms produce laughter at such times shows that they are not the real cause. What the real cause is we do not know. Something like it is expressed in much of that detestable art which the humans call music, and something like it occurs in Heaven -- a meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience, quite opaque to us. Laughter of this kind does us no good and should always be discouraged. Besides, the phenomenon is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of Hell.1
God speaks to his joyless people and reminds them that they are not nonpersons and their future has changed. Suddenly the ruins and destruction become an ornament in God's hand, and Jerusalem itself is a glorious crown, a sparkling diadem, a treasure and a delight which honors God. These returned exiles will be a sign that he is King. When you and I come back from our exile in the far country of sin, we too are a sign that he is King. Then, and only then, can we sing:
Joy to the world,
the Lord has come.
Let earth receive her King.
Like those ancient exiles, we have been redeemed, renewed, and restored because God is full of joy and Jesus is full of joy and this joy is for you and me.
____________
1. C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1977), p. 50.
No, let's not sing any of these. Instead, let's sing a song about Christmas. "Wait a minute! Did I hear you correctly? You want to sing a Christmas carol? Don't you realize that Christmas is over? Don't you think maybe it is time to put the carols away for another year?"
It's time to sing a Christmas carol. What carol should we sing? Shall we sing Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," or Joseph Mohr's "Silent Night, Holy Night"? Maybe Edmund Hamilton Sears' "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" would be appropriate. Perhaps Charles Wesley's "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" is the Christmas carol we should be singing.
The Christmas carol that we need to sing on this Lord's Day is by Isaac Watts. It is "Joy To The World." "Why this carol?" you ask. It expresses the sentiment of the Old Testament lesson which is from Isaiah 61:10--62:3. This is a jubilant song of praise which is sung to give God glory for his redeeming grace. The dominant theme of this song is "joy." Hence, let's open our hymnals and sing to the top of our lungs:
Joy to the World!
The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods,
rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
The prophet is so excited about what God has done that he cannot contain his joy. God has delivered his people, thus ...
The Prophet Shouts For Joy
The sad fact is that not everyone could celebrate. The children of Israel prior to this moment were in mourning. Doubt and despair had overwhelmed them. All of their social and religious activities were like attendance at a funeral. This will soon all be changed, for the children of Israel will celebrate a wedding rather than mourn at a funeral.
Why has the whole mood changed? It is because the people are now rejoicing in their God. Why is there so much joy when there had been doom and gloom everywhere? God has given his people a new status, which is highlighted by new clothing. God himself has put this new clothing on his people. God clothes the whole person -- body, soul, and spirit -- with the garments of salvation.
The story is told about Betty Hutton, a former movie star and box office attraction of the late '40s and '50s. Hutton fell on hard times and battled alcoholism and depression. A few years ago she encountered God and invited him into her life. God turned her life around and headed her in a different direction. She started on the trail to a comeback. Hutton joined the cast of the Broadway musical Annie, playing the role of Mrs. Hannigan. Those who were in attendance at the first performance noted the extensive biographical sketches of the members of the cast. However, under the picture of Betty Hutton there was no elaborate sketch. Instead, there appeared five words which Hutton had written herself. Those words were: "I'm back. Thanks to God."
The children of Israel were back in their own land, thanks to God, and this was cause for joy. This joy was expressed in the language of a wedding as the bride and bridegroom themselves are clothed in garments of salvation. It was true that Israel had sinned and broken her covenant relationship with God. Yet, God has forgiven her sin and cleansed her soul. This is the reason for Israel's joy.
The spirit conveyed in Isaiah 61:10-11 is the spirit of celebration, which God desires in his Church today. The Church is his bride, clothed in the garments of righteousness and radiant with his glory.
When the church is truly his bride, she can sing with Issac Watts:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
And wonders, and wonders of his love.
It's time for us to shout, "Joy to the World!" The prophet is also shouting because of ...
The Joy Of Restoration
A very close friend of mine made a nostalgic visit to his hometown, which is a county seat. When he was a boy, the downtown of this county seat came alive on Saturday. When the farmers had finished all of their chores, they came to town. From 4 o'clock in the afternoon until 8 p.m. the sidewalks and stores were packed with people laughing, talking, and shopping. Coming to town was a big deal on Saturday. Downtown was a place to share the latest stories, catch up on the news, and hear the latest gossip. It was downtown that one heard the news of a baby on its way or a person near the point of death. Engagements were announced downtown by the simple showing of a ring on a girl's hand. People sat on their cars, stood next to the stores, congregated in small eating establishments, or stood in the aisles of the stores to greet each other and talk of life, death, and the future. Teenagers made definite plans to meet downtown on Saturday. Many courtships were carried out downtown. Neighbors would ask their friends during the week, "Are you going downtown Saturday?" A royal treat for a child was to get to go downtown.
On his visit, my friend went downtown and discovered that downtown now only existed in his memory. The stores and shops that he frequented are now closed and hardly anyone goes downtown anymore. The town has moved south, and everything revolves around small strip malls, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and a Super Kroger. For all practical purposes, downtown is dead and buried. Not many people go downtown anymore.
There is something sad about a town becoming deserted. It's eerie! You can easily find a place to park. Buildings are empty, beckoning for someone to put them to use again and restore them to their original intention.
This is nothing compared to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was deserted. The strong walls, which had held back invading armies for years, had been pulled down. The Holy Temple, the house of God, had been desecrated and was now only a shell. The Babylonians had razed the city and carted off the citizens to a distant land.
After years in exile, the people were returning home to a land that was devastated. They were resolved to begin the task of rebuilding. Soon cracks of doubt became evident because of the perception that God was indifferent. The people wondered if all the talk about God coming as redeemer was accurate. What the people needed was a fresh vision of a glorious future.
In chapter 62:1-3, we suddenly hear God's voice. God is no longer silent and these three verses are a sign of fresh resolve on God's part. God will remain active and engaged until Jerusalem has been vindicated and rescued from oppression.
The message of Christmas is that God has not remained silent, for in Jesus Christ the silence has been broken. With the coming of Christ there is the promise of restoration and renewal. This causes us to respond, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come." Just as our Sovereign Lord came to those surveying the ruins of their land as they returned from exile, so he comes to us who are estranged and exiled from him. It is his desire to make us whole and complete and to bring us joy which is a product of his coming.
Just as God desired to restore the joy of those ancient exiles, so he desires to restore our joy which has been stolen by Satan who is totally committed to our joylessness. C. S. Lewis, in The Screw-tape Letters, depicts for us the devil's view of joy. The Screwtape Letters are a series of letters from senior devil Screwtape to Wormwood, his nephew who is a demon in training. Screwtape offers a wide range of advice from how to distract people from coming to Christ and how to keep those who come to Christ from being effective and productive.
In one letter to Wormwood, Screwtape writes about joy. (In his letters, "the Enemy" always means God). He writes to Wormwood:
Fun is closely related to joy -- a sort of emotional froth arising from the play instinct. It is of little use to us. It can sometimes be used, of course, to deviate humans from something else which the enemy should like them to be feeling or doing; but in itself it has wholly undesirable tendencies; it promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils.
After discussing some other issues, Screwtape gets around to joy:
You will see joy among friends and lovers reunited at the eve of a holiday. Among adults some pretext in the way of jokes is usually provided, but the facility with which even the smallest witticisms produce laughter at such times shows that they are not the real cause. What the real cause is we do not know. Something like it is expressed in much of that detestable art which the humans call music, and something like it occurs in Heaven -- a meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience, quite opaque to us. Laughter of this kind does us no good and should always be discouraged. Besides, the phenomenon is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of Hell.1
God speaks to his joyless people and reminds them that they are not nonpersons and their future has changed. Suddenly the ruins and destruction become an ornament in God's hand, and Jerusalem itself is a glorious crown, a sparkling diadem, a treasure and a delight which honors God. These returned exiles will be a sign that he is King. When you and I come back from our exile in the far country of sin, we too are a sign that he is King. Then, and only then, can we sing:
Joy to the world,
the Lord has come.
Let earth receive her King.
Like those ancient exiles, we have been redeemed, renewed, and restored because God is full of joy and Jesus is full of joy and this joy is for you and me.
____________
1. C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1977), p. 50.
