By Mallory Smyth
"We who are Christians have a further cause for joy: like Jesus, we know that we are loved by God our Father. This love transforms our lives and fills us with joy. It makes us see that Jesus did not come to lay burdens upon us. He came to teach us what it means to be fully happy and fully human. Therefore, we discover joy when we discover the truth – the truth about God our Father, the truth about Jesus our Savior, the truth about the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts." Pope St. John Paul II
It’s December, which means that for the next month, we will repeat the same fifteen Christmas songs while we indulge in the nostalgia of Yuletide memories past. I love this tradition. Few things make me happier than listening to that first round of Christmas classics right after Thanksgiving. Of all the songs I love — “White Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” and, yes, the entire *NSYNC Christmas album — my favorite is “O Holy Night.” Not only are the lyrics beautiful and profound, but they also changed my understanding of what Jesus’ Incarnation means for me.
It was the holiday season. I was in my early twenties, and “O Holy Night” began playing on the radio. At that time, I considered it an average song at best, but Nat King Cole’s voice was smooth as butter, so I refrained from changing the station. Like the rest of America, I had heard this song countless times but never noticed the lyrics. This time, however, was different. I listened to the words as if for the first time and was blown away when I heard:
“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining ‘til he appeared, and the soul felt its worth.” Astounding.
Only two years before this unforgettable car ride, I experienced a powerful conversion. After living my college years with no faith, I fell in love with Jesus, and everything changed. I knew the Gospel message: I had earned the wage of death by my sin. But God paid that wage for me through his son, Jesus Christ. He brought me back to life, giving me a place in his family. I knew I desperately needed God, but hearing the words of “O Holy Night” – he appeared, and the soul felt its worth – drove that home for me in a whole new way. It compelled me to live into my true worth found in Jesus and enabled me to live with a more profound sense of joy.
Can you imagine what it was like in Heaven when Christ finally entered the human experience? For all of history after the fall, humans had completely forgotten their worth. They were like royalty cast out of the kingdom, who had forgotten who they were and taken on the identity of beggars. Mired in sin, the world indeed pined for a way out of its plight. Then, in the fullness of time, just as the prophets foretold, a virgin gave birth to a child in a stable, and something shifted in the cosmos. Burdened by such darkness, believing themselves beggars, humanity could finally exhale. Jesus, the light of life, became man and reminded us of our true identity.
And what was the response? When Jesus was born, the heavens erupted with sheer joy and unceasing rejoicing.
It was the same for the men and women in Scripture. Time after time, ordinary people met Jesus; he reminded them of their worth, and it changed them. They began to live with unshakable, abiding joy, which gave them the power to change the world. Joy enabled the early Church to upend the brutality of the Roman Empire. They lived with morals that were foreign to Rome’s self-indulgence. They cared for the lowly and discarded. They opened their homes in hospitality to the outcast and stranger. They shared God’s Truth and, with joy, were willing to die for that Truth. Christianity changed the world because Jesus Christ appeared and made living with abiding joy in a fallen world possible.
Have you let your identity as a Christian change the way you live? This is easier said than done.
If you are anything like me, you go through your life at lightning speed. Your calendar is likely full. Maybe you have a family with unending needs to care for. You might strive to prove yourself as you reach for status, promotions, more money and a better reputation. Maybe you are waiting for God to deliver on a promise, but the wait makes you feel forgotten. Perhaps you are going through life under the weight of faults, failures, sins and shame you can’t shake. Juggling this day in and day out might leave you weary, tired and, if you are honest, joyless.
Over the next few weeks, I invite you to pause to let our Lord remind you what you are worth. Let joy enter and settle in your soul. But remember, joy is not saccharine positivity or fake happiness, although a positive attitude is good. The joy of the Lord goes far deeper than fleeting emotions. Christian joy transcends our circumstances. It enables us to live in a steady state of fulfillment, confidence and hope that flows from knowing our worth in Christ. The more we fall in love with God and accept what he says about us, the easier it is for us to live joyfully.
You have infinite worth, a worth you will never fully grasp this side of Heaven. Yes, you, with all your brokenness. Christ overcomes it all and reveals that you are worth it all: the Incarnation, the Cross and the Resurrection. He did it all because you matter. Do you believe it? Will you let it change you? Will you respond by grabbing hold of the joy set before you?
This Advent and Christmas season, I invite you to become the gift of joy to the world around you. Accept your identity in Christ and let it drive everything you do. Allow it to be the reason you protect your time, creating a December calendar that leaves room for prayer, silence and downtime. Let it make you generous, present and patient to the people in your life. May it open your eyes to meet the needs of others. Go about your day fully engaged with the world around you. Look people in the eye, and show them their worth through your actions.
Christ has come, but so many people don’t know him. They don’t know what they mean to God. But if you, dear reader, let the truth of your worth in Christ change the way you live, it may be the thing that makes the difference for someone else.
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