In Our Joy And In Our Sorrow

There is much joy in the Biblical account of the coming of Jesus. Reading the Nativity Stories in the Gospels can be an exhilarating experience. You can feel the joy, literally. In Luke’s Gospel, for example, there is the joy of Mary when she learns that she is to become the mother of the Messiah. There is the joy of Mary and Joseph at the time of the child’s birth. There is the joy of the shepherds who came in from their fields to adore the newborn Babe. There is the joy of the old couple, Simeon and Anna, when they encounter the Child Jesus in the Temple and recognize that their lifelong dreams of the Messiah’s coming have been realized. There is the joy of the “Wise Men” as they enter the stable in Bethlehem after a long, difficult journey: they were “overjoyed,” Matthew tells us. All through the Biblical account of Jesus’ Nativity the joy is there for us to share in. But…