12/25/19 Bo (To see video, click HERE)
The angels appeared to some shepherds out in the fields
bringing “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Later they were joined by a heavenly chorus
proclaiming “…peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
The angels didn’t actually bring “happiness” or “merriment”,
they brought “joy” and “peace”. There is
a difference.
Out to share the good news of the Gospel on Christmas Eve,
much in the spirit of those angels, I found the sidewalks strangely empty. But I did find a lone man in the bleachers at
the ball field. Bo told me he was having
a hard time this Christmas, having lost his father, his long-time girlfriend,
and three other people over the past year.
His mourning over their loss had cost him his job, and alcohol seemed
like his only friend. He had stopped by
the park for a beer or two before going to spend some time with his brother’s
family.
After hearing his story, it seemed pretty shallow to wish
him a “Merry Christmas”. Instead, I
tried to give him what those angels brought the shepherds so many years ago:
joy and peace.
“Joy” is different from happiness the same way the deep
depths of the ocean are different from the waves at the surface. Happiness comes and goes with the winds of
changing circumstances, but joy runs deep.
The world wants us to expect great happiness every Christmas, and we are
disappointed when our reality doesn’t live up to our expectations. But the joy the Lord brings to the life of a
believer is the quiet hope that God is with us both on the mountaintops of
happiness and in the valleys of despair.
“Peace” is different from the merriment we have come to
expect from every Christmas, merriment that comes from excessive food and drink
and gifts and frivolity. God’s peace
comes from the right relationship with God that forgiveness brings, the forgiveness
made possible by the arrival of Christ, the Savior, on that holy night so many
years ago.
I believe Bo was feeling some of that joy and peace by the
end of our conversation there on that lonely bleacher at the ballfield. And I hope this might be a friendly reminder
that this good news of great joy, and the peace that passes all understanding
is really what Christmas is all about.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you
trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Thanks for allowing me to record our conversation, Bo! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/kT3kASTptHU
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