Luke 2:10-11 (ESV)
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
I love the Christmas season. I like the cheerful
decorations, spending time with family and friends, and eating Christmas
goodies. One of my favorite part of Christmas, is the Christmas carols like
“Joy to the World!”
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come,” God’s people announce
at Christmastime. Based on Psalm 98, Isaac Watts’s eighteenth-century carol
celebrates the coming of Jesus, the Christ. The joy of the Savior’s coming
resounds throughout all of creation, even the fields and rocks and hills and
plains “repeat the sounding joy.” This is good news for all of God’s world!
What’s so good about this news announced each Christmas?
Why sing this carol with such exuberance? Watts answers that question in the
third stanza, where he declares that Jesus has come to deal with the curse of
human sin and rebellion. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus brings the
blessing as “far as the curse is found.”
In Watts’s hymn, this phrase repeats several times—and for
good reason. Released from bondage to sin and the power of death over us, we
are now freed to live with joy, to love God and our neighbor, and to cultivate
the earth God has given us. So let’s sing with joy that good news: “Joy to the
world! The Lord is come”!
Dear Lord, You have come and released us from the power of
sin and death. Help us to live in ways that proclaim the wonders of Your love. In
the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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