The Start of Joy

On Tuesday morning I got up REALLY early (obscenely early if you ask me). I couldn’t go back to sleep and so tried to do some productive stuff while the rest of the world slept in peaceful oblivion. Cuban coffee helped wake me up a little bit and I was thus able to talk with God, work on some writing, and catch up with the latest news regarding my beloved Miami Dolphins as dawn began to break.

But dawn didn’t just break that morning; it cracked wide open like a dropped china vase. Pink fingers of light crinkled their way across the gloom. The clouds lit up like they were on fire. The dark trees just outside our yard along with the recent snowfall magnified the effect of the growing light in the sky. The contrast between dark and light was like watching an evenly matched game of tug-of-war.

But the light was winning.

It was so amazing that I ran upstairs and got Kathy (who was up at the time). Together, we watched the glow of a new day, spellbound by the beauty we savored.

I felt peace and joy. A genuine, non-commercial Christmas moment.

This week of Advent, marks the coming of joy.

It was only fitting that Kathy and I watched “a Charlie Brown Christmas” that evening. After complaining that he can’t possibly memorize his lines for the Christmas play, Linus shares with Charlie Brown and the others what the true meaning of Christmas is.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

With the arrival of the Savior comes joy. We have joy because even though we are surrounded by the gloom of circumstances, sickness, problems, and pain, we can see the light at the edge of the sky.

A new day is dawning. Let us greet it with joy.

Joe