December 17, 2025

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT: JOY

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.‘” (Nehemiah 8.10)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

For what did the people in the newly constructed Jerusalem grieve? Their grief came as a result of seeing their current situation being the result of past failures to honor God’s Word. It was a grief born out of the realization that their own sins and the sins of generations before them had brought an enmity between themselves and God. It was not that God had turned His back on them but that they had turned their backs on Him. Yet, the promise of mercy and reconciliation which had always been a part of God’s testimony of His own faithfulness to those whom He would call “My people” was now apparent to them. God had indeed worked all things together for good for those who put their faith in Him. In the moment of recognition, the people grieved. Would God continue to favor an “unfavorable” people? Were they worthy of such a blessing as to see the city restored and the Temple itself rebuilt? Could they again be “the people of God” bound in fulfilling the covenant of righteousness which had been established with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and carried on by Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon? Could the prophecies of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Isaiah reach their fruitition in that current generation?

In the midst of that grief of recognition which convicted them of their sins against God and one another there was hope. One of those places of hope which would bring joy to the people was in the words of Isaiah was found in Isaiah 9.2, “Those people who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the shadow of death shone a great light.” Consider the shadow which the Temple of God was to cast upon the world. It was to be a shadow of life which was no shadow at all. Why was it not a shadow? We get out clue from the description of the New Jerusalem described in Jesus’ revelation of the last days to John on Patmos. There He said, “The glory of God was in the midst of the city.” (Revelation 21.23) The light of God’s glory and grace emanated from the city itself. There could be no shadow cast by the Holy City because it did not stand in the way of the Lord. It was the ultimate expression of Immanuel, God with us. We can return to Isaiah and see other such illustrations which foreshadowed the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. Now hundreds of years later, the people were considering the fulfillment of those prophecies. They also could consider the consequences of choosing to follow in the way of God’s word as their ancestors had failed to do.

It is here, mighty ones of God, that I recognize a dual presentation of “joy comes in the morning.” It is a realization that grief passes and is replaced by joy, the joy of the Lord which becomes our strength. I can as easily hear “joy comes in the mourning.” It is through our willingness to grieve and repent that we are able to find peace, forgiveness and a renewed opportunity to be “the people of God.” Reading beyond Nehemiah 8.10 and following, we see how the people were sent to refresh themselves with meals of celebration. Indeed, their mourning had be turned into rejoicing. Further, their rejoicing had been turned into charity and blessing. They not only ate of the food which they prepared but shared it with others who were not able to do the same so they may rejoice as well in the restoration which God was bringing to them. We would do well, mighty ones of God, to consider this “sacrament of a great commissioning.” Their charity and compassion sprung up out of their joy of salvation. It became a witness to others to join with them in believing what God had done: He did what He said He would do! Isn’t that what our charity and compassion at Christmas is supposed to bear witness to? Are we not supposed to share these glad tidings of comfort and joy with the world not so they can live for a day or a lifetime. These tidings are a call to acknowledge the “true reading” of God’s word which utters grief of repentance and the joy of reconciliation. Is that what we are doing with our gift giving and gift sharing in this season of preparation for the “One who is coming”?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.