Fields United Methodist Church

Celebrate Jesus!

Pastor Tom Joyce

December 5, 2022

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Luke 1:46-47

Joy is our response to all the gifts we have received from God. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent some time with Elizabeth the Holy Spirit must have just filled her with so much joy in the realization of the precious gift she was carrying that she just had to celebrate! Joy is the affirmation that everything that God has done is for the benefit of God’s beloved, which includes you. Joy happens when even on the darkest day of your life, you just know your Lord and Savior Jesus is there holding you and making real the peace and hope that has been “poured into [your heart] through the Holy Spirit that has been given to [you].” (Romans 5:5) Joy is living out the presence of Jesus in your life no matter the circumstance; it could take the form of celebration or simply a quiet time affirming and thanking Jesus for carrying you through yet another season as you proclaim that he, “walks with me and he talks with me, and he tells me that I am his own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other as ever known.” (“In the Garden” #314(UMH) The joy of the Lord lightens your load as you realize Jesus has been with you from the very beginning of your journey and will be with you when this journey ends and another begins.  May the joy of the Lord be with every step you take and word you speak. Open the gift of joy and share the gift with those along your path; you will be blessed as you will be a blessing.   Thank you Jesus for the joy of this moment, and every moment even to the end of the age.