Bartolome Esteban Murillo: The Nativity
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Christmas Day
Joy and the Tomb
Matthew
The New Testament brings us the good news of personal freedom and the reality of our individual relationship with God. Joy continues to surprise us as we rejoice in the coming of the Messiah.
In the Gospel of Matthew we hear the familiar story of three wise seekers following not only a singular star in the heavens but also a call of the heart. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, the women who accompanied Jesus are astounded by joy when they arrive at his tomb to discover that he has risen as promised.
Matthew 2:9-10: And so the wise men left Herod, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
God says: You do not have to travel across continents or go to faraway shores to find me. I am here within you. And just as I live in you so also does my mercy. Just as I accompany you so also does my love. Just as I guide and carry you, so does my joy.
Matthew 28:8: So the women left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
God says: Just as my first apostles ran to share the joy of Easter with the world, so might you share the joy of Christmas during this special time of year. Just as these women are open to the reality of my love for them, so might you be open to the good news that I have come to restore and heal. In this Christmastide, rest in the joy of this child’s birth and allow my joy to fully live in you.
When we hear the Christmas story we focus on the sweetness of the child and God’s provision and providence; we tend to stay away from the story of the cross . . . yet it provides us with a greater example God’s joy in us. Matthew links this joy in the vulnerable child with joy in the loving man. We might spend time with this linkage today . . . and allow God’s joy to show us something wonderful and new.
If this week’s Noontimes call you to search for more ways to encounter Joy or urges you to investigate the New Testament, click on the word Joy in the categories cloud in the blog’s right hand sidebar and choose a reflection, or enter those words in the blog search bar.
Image from: http://www.phistars.com/2011/09/esteban-bartolome-murillo-virgin-mary.html
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