The birth of Jesus is a cause for great joy. It is a message our sad and troubled world desperately needs to hear. In many places there is great suffering and sadness, and the future seems bleak. The terrible war in Ukraine continues with its daily toll of deaths and lifechanging injuries on both sides. The conflict in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon has had devastating consequences for many ordinary people. The overthrow of the evil Assad regime in Syria has brought hope but the challenge of rebuilding is massive. In Sudan millions of people have had to flee from their homes.
The world into which Jesus was born was also sad and troubled. Jesus was born and lived under the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. Caesar Augustus was the all-powerful Roman Emperor and was the first emperor to encourage a cult to deify his name and reign. Through his army he exercised power and authority over many nations. Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born because Caesar Augustus had ordered a census of all the people in his empire from whom he then demanded taxes.
But the significance of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, transcends our circumstances and is a cause for great joy. Luke tells us his birth was announced to lowly shepherds living out in the fields near Bethlehem. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Isaac Watts wrote a lovely hymn, sung especially at Christmas, which proclaims the joy the coming of Jesus brings to all people and even to the creation itself. “Joy to the world; the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns! our mortal songs employ; while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding joy. 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. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love.” May we all experience the joy of receiving Jesus into our hearts and lives.