Megajoy ~ Greg J

Previously I displayed photos of Christmas decorations in a nearby park. I've seen "JOY" on street decorations and Christmas cards. I don’t recall ever seeing the extravagance of “JOYFUL” in letters so tall.

Joy is an essential part of Christmas. There are nine instances of “joy” or “rejoice” in the Christmas story (Matthew chapters 1-2 and Luke chapters 1-2). May I bring to your attention the two most extraordinary kinds of Christmas joy?

THE SHEPHERDS AND MEGAJOY

First, y’see, there were these shepherds. These were superior shepherds, outstanding in their fields. Even so, an angel knocks their socks off with a cosmic commission:

“Do not be afraid!
For behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy
which will be
to all people!
For there is born to you this day in the city of David
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”
Luke 2:10-11 NKJV

The Greek language brings us the earliest report of this angel’s announcement. The highlighted words are pronounced KARAN MEGAHLAYN. “Karan” means “joy”. “Megahlayn” is translated: big , large, great, strong, loud. Mega is a root for such words as megawatt, megabyte, and megalosaur. 

If this joy was offered in the grocery produce section, its label would read: 

        JOY  ▶LARGE◀

Another way to put it: “I bring you good news of MEGAJOY which will be for all people!”

Today's headline news tends to be of limited interest: Child rescued from raccoons. Sales of partridges up 1000%. Lead poisoning afflicts bullet factory workers.

The Bethlehem angel publishes something entirely different: GOOD NEWS of MEGAJOY for ALL PEOPLE.

So the shepherds proceed to Bethlehem, “in haste”. They see, they hear, they tell. As the crazy night comes to a close, as the not-really-silent night brightens with dawn, we find the now noisy shepherds:  “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.”

Here's a way to recognize MEGAJOY:  MEGAJOY overflows.

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THE MAGI AND MEGAJOY

Consider also the magi, sometimes called the wise men.  There may have been just two, maybe twenty.

Imagine crossing deserts to find a specific child somewhere in Judea, an area 70 miles long and 20 miles wide. Imagine pausing at King Herod's perilous palace for directions. Imagine knowing you are already late to the party. “Late” is an understatement. King Herod murdered babies as old as two years. 

Imagine feeling that space and time and human selfishness are all against you.

Then finally you reach the end of your starry trek: BETHLEHEM! You cry in relief. Your camels cry in relief. Joy pushes aside all your regrets and fears. This is how you feel:

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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea...,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we have seen His star in the East
and have come to worship Him.”

 ...When they heard the king, they departed;
and behold, the star which they had seen in the East
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy!
Matthew 2:1-12 NKJV

By contrast with the impulsive shepherds, I envision the wise men as stoic philosopher-adventurers (like me) who had seen the human condition.  I'm thinking of old grumps, of three Scrooges. They decided to act upon their insight. I find it hard to believe that the wise men naively waltzed into infamous Herod's court. They must have been exhausted and desperate.

They persistently and faithfully pursued hope that this newborn king was worthy of worship—that this new king announced by a star would make. things. right! Night's darkness revealed Bethlehem's star.  Weariness is the background that precedes what the wise men experienced. And what they experienced was:

“exceedingly great joy”

KARAN MEGALAYN SPHODRA
JOY            GREAT       EXCEEDINGLY

In grocery-store terms, the wise men found 

JOY  ▶Extra-Large Supreme◀

Wise and weary people still seek the Savior.
When they find Him, they still experience

exceedingly great joy:

MegaJoy!

THE JOY OF WHAT?

People find joy in many things. Some write books about it. The Joy of Knitting identifies its subject, “both as a way to produce unique, stylish, handcrafted garments, and as a practice of meditative solace in a stressful world.”

What “Joy of” book might you write? 

I value simple joys. Joy tends to surprise, arising when I open my eyes to the ordinary.  

But admittedly once in a while I long for epiphany, a brush of the numinous, a confrontation with great joy; to “rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.” 

Ought great joy be hard to find, given that probably we know more about Jesus than did the shepherds and wise men? But have we gone and seen and told? Have we brought our gifts to the King of kings?

May you be JOYFUL. May God grant you the exceedingly-great-extra-large supreme MEGAJOY of knowing Jesus, born in Bethlehem, born of Mary, born as God promised: 

Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King” 

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