The story is age-old. You’ve heard bits and pieces. But the whole story – along with that joyful feeling described in so many carols – is elusive. So how can this Christmas be different, memorable?

Instead of speeding up the process, take some moments to slow it down. Glance at the real Christmas story in Luke 2. The story is not about rushing, but is about reflecting. Mary pondered on the angel’s message. Joseph reflected on the message he received from the angel in his dream; he made the appropriate, yet unpopular choice and took care of Mary in the face of criticism. It’s not so easy following the less popular road, is it?

Together, they took a l-o-n-g journey to be counted in the census. Things didn’t come easily to this family, quite the same as for individuals and families these days, 2,000 years later. When the King of all mankind arrived, the family stayed put. God wanted people to hear the great news, the message of salvation. He found a way to tell it through the shepherds. Travelling on foot, they would be able to saturate the countryside with personal testimonies of what they had seen and heard concerning the birth of our Savior.

Slower still, the three kings followed signs God had put into nature, in the stars. In those days they couldn’t travel quickly. Just imagine how many people along the way were waiting to learn what they found when they followed the star!

So, did all of these people in the story of Jesus’ birth feel “happiness” or “joy” when they learned the news? I’m told happiness tends to be like the sands in an hourglass. They eventually get fewer and fewer.

That doesn’t quite cover the phrases we read in the Bible. The heavenly host of angels praised God by saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” That sounds beyond happy to me.  Once the shepherds saw and told the story, we’re told that everyone who heard it was amazed. Young Mary treasured all these things in her heart. The shepherds “glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. It was JUST the way the angel had told them” (Luke 2:20) Incredible things were revealed to them, just the way God reveals His good news of salvation – no matter what our sin – to us in His Bible today.  It’s in every page.

Just like the shepherds, the wise men, the townspeople, Mary and Joseph back in the day, we live everyday lives. Once we realize that we are saved by grace (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense), joy becomes an internal emotion, and it bursts forth, lighting up those everyday lives. That’s why some people seem different, even peaceful – not just at Christmas, but every day of the year. Joy stays with us … day in, day out, come what may in our lives. We know that whatever sadness we bring to the Christmas season, our Lord counters that with true joy of eternal life in heaven. What could bring more joy than that?