Mister Rogers once said that we use the word disabilities to indicate that some folks can’t hear or see or walk. “But what of people who can’t feel?” He suggested that the real disabilities are when people can’t form loving relationships, when folks become bitter about life, when they feel no joy. Perhaps we all have moments when we are disabled because we lack joy.

I wonder what the shepherds were feeling on the night that an angel appeared to them announcing:

“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”
– Luke 2: 10

I wonder if one of the shepherds was overdrawn at the bank but in the radiant moment of the night, knew joy. I wonder if one of the shepherds was exhausted because two of the kids hadn’t slept well due to the flu bug going around but still he felt the amazing love of his family. I wonder if one of the shepherds wanted to change careers but saw no prospects, yet still felt God’s peace enveloping him. Joy is not mutually exclusive with melancholy.

Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Last Saturday at the Christmas Festival at church I watched families fill warmth packs for our local neighbors without adequate shelter and I could see on their faces the joy of serving, the joy of giving oneself away in love. On Tuesday I attended the staff party, the Board party and a good friend’s party. I came home filled up with the joy of warm and tender human friendship. This Saturday we make our annual trek to Union Station with our grandson who lives with autism’s challenges but finds absolute joy in watching the toy trains for hours on end. And then there is the radiant joy of Christmas Eve – this year with 4 services – where people gather with hearts full and anticipation high to listen to the majestic brass/organ soar as we sing “Joy to the World” and then moments later savor the mystical beauty of “Silent Night” with candles raised high.

Where do you experience that deep and abiding joy, not just at Christmas but throughout the year? The scriptures tell a story of the countless ways God invades our lives with infinite love. Christmas awakens us to the holy mystery of love born in human flesh, even ours. It’s enough to send us out in joy.