Much of what we know about Christmas, we know from hearing Christmas carols. Among the Christmas carols, one of the best known is “Joy to the World.” Interestingly enough, “Joy to the World” was not written about Christmas.
Christmas is about the first coming of Jesus. “Joy to the World” is about the second coming of Jesus. The song is based on Psalm 98, which says that “The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.” It anticipates that “The Lord is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Even as we are preparing for the first coming of Jesus, we are celebrating his second coming.
Our response to what God has done, and what God will do, is joy. Admittedly, this world is not yet what it should be. If God is indeed king, the world has yet to notice. Yet we trust that God is indeed coming to make everything right. When Jesus comes back, he will fix all the problems of this world. All we have to do is wait. And because we are confident that he is coming back, we rejoice.
In our sermon this Sunday we will tell the story of the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World.”