Christmas post #6 - Joy

Ok, so I'm a day late. Story of my life. My apologies for not getting this out on Christmas Day, but I admit between the presents, family, food, festivities, and enjoyment of spending the holidays with my parents and brother, I got caught up and carried away.

On the very day of Joy, we are called to remember that Christ was born. We all know that Christmas is the birth of Christ. We know about the wise men. We know about the shepherds. And now? An exploration of Joy. Of happiness and the instructions for the Christian faith contained in the song Joy to the World.

Originally composed by George Friedrich Handel, as part of the Oratorio "Messiah", written in 1741, Joy to the World has been adapted slightly as the words have been changed over time. Perhaps one of the most well known Christmas songs, Joy to the World is an easy standard of Christianity.

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Lord is come/Let earth receive her King/Let every heart prepare Him room/And heaven and nature sing/And heaven and nature sing/And heaven and heaven and nature sing.
Expressing Joy at the coming of the Lord is natural. It's what we're supposed to do. We saw explained in O Holy Night how the world was waiting for a long time in sin, waiting for the Joy of the birth of the Savior. Earth truly DID receive her king. As the old medieval feudal hierarchy points out, God is the ruler of Earth. Every heart should prepare Him room. Now what about this? Jesus came to prepare the way, just as John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus, at his arrival, was the road upon which the Holy Spirit traveled into humanity and gave us a renewed connection to God. Heaven and Nature. Earth and God's own realm, should sing in praise. Remember the prayer to the Lord that Christ taught? "Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." As above? So below.

Joy to the world! the Saviour 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.

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.
A repetition of the message of the first verse. The Earth repeats the Joy that the will of God is being done as Christ is God incarnate upon Earth.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

No more let sins and sorrows grow/Nor thorns infest the ground/He comes to make His blessings flow/Far as the curse is found/Far as the curse is found/Far as, far as, the curse is found.
This verse refers to the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-12, and Luke 8:4-10. A sower, scattering seeds, has several different outcomes. Satan scoops some away immediately as birds come down to eat the seeds on the path. Some fall on rocky ground and spring up quickly, but without deep roots (faith), they die as soon as the sun came out. Other seeds fell among thorns, that is to say, other people, who choked the life from and persecuted the faith of those seeds, and they were choked and killed. Other seeds fall on fertile soil and produce grain. This verse is saying that Jesus has come to make his blessings known to all of the world as far and wide as the 'curse' that is, the curse of a broken relationship with God through Sin.

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, wonders, of His love.

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, wonders, of His love
Referring both to the works of the Apostles after His death, working wonders in His name and proving His grace and truth, as Jesus gathered together Apostles from disparate nations and backgrounds, as well as to the modern world. He calls upon us to work wonders of His love. Not moving mountains whole or parting oceans, but working for Him and His will, treating our neighbors and our fellow human beings as well as our environment with love, respect, and compassion.