Magyar Egyház, 1971 (50. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-12-01 / 12. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11 MAGYAR CHURCH JOY TO THE WORLD The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem Judea almost 2000 years ago brought into the world such measure of joy that it filled the heart of God’s children from generation to generation throughout the whole world. This joy burst into our world when the angel of God said to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy”. Indeed, it was a tremendous joy in heaven, when according to the everlasting plan of our Almighty God, and Father His son, our Lord Jesus Christ came down to earth, to live with us and show us the love of our gracious God. The Old Testament prophets spoke about “the fulness of time”, when God’s only son, will come into this world. It must have been a distinguished joy among the angels in heaven to convey this glorious message of joy to the citizens of this earth. Oh, how happy those angels were and how they all wished to have the coveted joyous commission. But, the decision was made and the herald of God set forth proclaiming the joyful message to men: “be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will come to all the people.” “For to you is born, this day, .. . Christ the Lord!” Therefore, it is understandable, that one of our beautiful Christmas hymns starts with these words: “Joy to the World! the Lord is come!” Furthermore, it was joy among the shepherds, who first heard the angel’s message. Perhaps they were frightened, when they saw the heavenly ambassador of God, but truely it turned to be a glad tiding, as they heard the news: “for to you, is born this day, Christ the Lord.” Mind you, it was not the king and his royal court, who had the privilege of hearing for the first time this heavenly message of joy. No. It was the poor shepherds. Was it the high priest and the ones who served in the beautiful big temple of Jerusalem, who saw the angel and heard the heavenly chorus? No. It was the humble and poor shepherds in the fields, who watched their flocks by night. They had the privilege to be the first ones to hear of the great joy, that a Savior was born in Bethlehem. Nay, the angel did not go to Athens, where famous philosophers taught, not as a matter of fact, anywhere else, but to the shepherds. This indicates before Almighty God, that there is no difference as to who the people are or what their occupation is. So, the shepherds represent the humble, poor and average man who lived at that time, in order that no one in later years, or even today should have any excuse for not going to Bethlehem, or not accepting Jesus Christ, as Lord and King. Never before did the angels of God sing like this:! “for behold, I bring you good tidings of a great joy”. Naturally, not everybody was happy in those days either; just as today. Some men would remain unmovable, but those who loved God, received this news over the birth of the Messiah with great joy. People rejoiced, that God’s promise about the Messiah was fulfilled: Christ came in flesh to be a man, to live with us, that He may lead us into the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Happy were the ones, who in the “fulness of time” had the privilege to see God’s Holy Son, the Savior of mankind. How many for generations were saying: “How long? How long? O God?” Then, He came at last. Surely, all the heavenly hosts, and all God’s people opened their heart and received Him with great joy. The question today is, do you have joy in your heart, that Christ Jesus was born? Do you feel as touched by the message of the angel as the shepherds were? Are you happy, that God kept His promise and sent His holy Son? Christmas is a joyful holiday. It could be, that you had trials, sadness and death in your family during the past year, yet as Christmas comes, do you rejoice with the heavenly hosts and Christian men and women all over the world, that Jesus Christ our Savior was born?! Rejoice, therefore, and give thanks to God, for the first Christmas gift of our Heavenly Father was His Holy Son. May this joy keep you happy every day of the coming new year and for ever. Dezső Abraham
