At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors." Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1:39-56 NIV)
When I first moved to Eastern Europe, I had the honor to meet Christian leaders who had lived and served during the repressive years of communist rule.
Many of them had been arrested, incarcerated, shipped to Siberia and lived with a sense of imminent danger. When they gathered, they would share stories that caused me to hold them in awe.
On one such occasion I was sitting around the table with five Romanian leaders as they shared harrowing stories of harassment, interrogations and imprisonment at the hands of the Romanian communist government.
The persecution was the result of things like having unauthorized Bibles, translating Sunday School curriculum for children from the West and holding unauthorized meetings.
During the sharing I noticed one leader was strangely quiet. Finally, I asked him if he had experienced persecution. He replied, “God did not see fit to bless me that way.”
Exploring that comment further, I realized that those men felt as though persecution for Christ’s sake was a blessing and furthermore was cause for joy.
Advent joy is not only about an expression of happiness and celebration, it is a way to find a unique perspective even in the face of difficulties.
Two Ways to Embrace Joy This Advent
When Mary traveled to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, we see the advent expression of joy in both senses.
The early portion of Luke 1 announces the coming of Christ to Mary through the immaculate conception. Mary believed the angelic proclamation and then traveled to be with her cousin Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had also received a prophetic word regarding her son and upon Mary’s arrival she and the unborn child were filled with joy (vs. 41). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth affirmed the unique place that Mary will hold in history as the mother of the Christ child (vv. 42-45). The joy felt was expressed most clearly with the little baby leaping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb (vs. 44).
This kind of joy comes in life’s special moments, where the situation fills us with happiness and a spirit of celebration.
The birth of a child, graduation from school, a lovely meal, sports accomplishments, and a host of other external events can bring us amazing joy and cause us to express that joy.
Advent is a time of joy when we have so many occasions to rejoice.
We can rejoice recalling that night in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. We can celebrate His life, His atoning death and resurrection and the forgiveness of sins and new life we can enjoy.
In addition to these, the central meaning of Christmas, we find joy in family gatherings, gift giving, special music and the festivities that surround Christmas.
And if we are honest, there is tremendous joy for children in gift receiving, cookies, candies, the lights of a Christmas tree, holding down a spot in the Christmas play and the neighborhood decorations. All of these “externals” bring us joy, as they did Mary and Elizabeth.
However, there is a second kind of joy that is evident in Mary’s song that follows Elizabeth’s expression of joy (vv. 46-56).
In this beautiful passage, Mary rejoices (vs. 47) in God. She rejoices in His qualities and the actions He has taken to express those qualities.
Some of those qualities are God:
- being a Savior, (vs. 47),
- mindful of humble people (vs. 48),
- acting merciful (vs. 50),
- lifting up the humble (52),
- feeding the hungry (vs. 53)
- and keeping His promises (vs. 56)
As Mary recites these qualities of God and His work in her world she is filled with joy.
Here rejoicing is not limited to her circumstances but extends to a more abiding joy that rests in God’s nature. Her focus is not only on her miraculous pregnancy, but also on the greatness of God, a cause for joy.
This is the kind of abiding joy that can transcend the situations we face in life. Advent joy is the kind of joy I have observed in persecuted countries where Christians find joy in the face of truly horrible situations.
Abiding advent joy is what our children need as we close in on the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth.
As we celebrate this third Sunday of advent let’s commit to helping our children not only rejoice in the “accouterments” and “trappings” of the celebration but also in the qualities of God the Father.
Mary’s description of God still rings true and is merely a sketch of God’s greatness. This Sunday, celebrate advent joy by taking time to recount some of the infinite qualities that make God great and can give us joy, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
For some children, this advent season will be a season where a parent has been lost, families broken, economic pressures, relational stress, illness, and a host of other negative events, large and small.
Even in those times, we can find joy when we focus in the greatness of God, who He is and all that He has done for us.
Experiential Activity: Joy (Luke 1:39-56)
Supplies:
- Joyful music to play during the game
- One small gift for each child such as candy bars, tiny stuffed animals (Amazon Link) or party favors (Amazon Link)
- Different colors and patterns of wrapping paper
- Scotch tape
Directions:
Ahead of time, use Christmas gift paper, plastic cling wrap, &/or colored tissue paper to wrap the first gift. Take the next gift, place it on top of the first gift and wrap both of them together with another layer of paper or plastic. Do the same with the all the gifts, one at a time, until you have one big ball of gifts, enough for each child to have one. If possible, use different paper/plastic for each layer to make it easier for kids to see how much to unwrap when it is their turn.
Don’t worry if it looks like a big blob. It should look something like this:
To play the game, have everyone sit in a circle on the floor or in a circle of chairs. Give the gift ball to one child and explain how the game works:
Say: “I will play some music, and while the music is playing, you will pass the gift around the circle. When the music stops, whoever is holding the gift gets to unwrap one layer of wrapping paper and keep whatever surprise falls out.”
“Then that child should leave the circle and the game continues, until every child has received a gift.”
Let the game start! Kids love the joyful anticipation of waiting for the music to stop, opening a layer of wrapping paper, and getting a prize. Just be sure that everyone gets a gift.
Tips: If you’re playing with boys and girls, it’s probably best to have only non-gender-specific gifts, or to allow trading of gifts at the end. If trading is allowed, set boundaries so it can be done quickly and without conflict. Depending on how mature your players are, you might want to consider having every prize be very similar (maybe just different colors or different types of stuffed toys or candy) Have fun!
Connecting Questions
- How did you feel when you got your gift?
Connecting Statement
Today we are going to hear about the joy a woman named Mary experienced when she received a GREAT gift! It was a gift for you, me and the entire world.
Join EGM-US!
If you're serving in a church in the United States, you can be part of the exciting new launch of EGM-US by hosting a vision meeting in your area, attending a training, or just contacting us for more information about how this could benefit your next generation ministries by contacting us contacting our team at (951)587-3825 or [email protected].