by the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min.

Pastor, All Saints’ Church

God gives you Christmas presents through the Christmas celebration. This is the theme
of the talks during this Advent season. The first week I talked about the gift of hope.
"Hope is the penicillin of the spirit." Last week I talked peace. God gives you
the gift of peace. Peace is not the absence of conflict, difficulties, problems, and
troubles. Peace, rather, is the presence of adequate resources. Today we think about
God’s gift of joy.

What is the difference between joy and happiness? We usually use the two words
inter-changeably. Look at the word happiness and where it comes from. The word happiness
comes from the word happenings. If something fortunate happens to you, then you feel
happiness. If something unfortunate happens to you, you feel unhappiness. Your happiness
is connected to happenings. Joy, on the other hand, is like the pilot light in a gas
range. No matter what happens in the house, the pilot light burns as a steady flame. Joy
is such a steady flame. God has great faith in us. His faith stimulates our faith in God.
Likewise, God loves us and has great hopes for us. His love and hope stimulate our
corresponding love and hope toward God. So it is with joy. God rejoices in us. His joy in
us lights the flame of joy in us. Today we think about the stars in the Bible as symbols
for joy.

People Who Are Guiding Lights in Your Life

People can be stars of joy in our lives. I hope and believe that everyone has had
persons in their lives who have been bright lights in the dark nights. The Book of Daniel
says, "Those who teach others to live right shall shine like stars for ever and
ever" (Daniel 12:3). Such guiding stars have richly blessed me. These have been
guiding lights for me:

Harry Emerson Fosdick, a Baptist.

Leslie Weatherhead, an English Methodist

SyFulton Sheen, a Roman Catholic bishop.

Joseph Fort Newton, an Episcopal priest.

Other Episcopal priests such as Hamilton Aulenbach, Gustav Meckling, Robert Harris.

Persons who are like stars in our lives and have been channels of joy have blessed us
all. Erma Bombeck was such a guiding star. In a column, Erma wrote about her experience in
church one Sunday. A small child was turning around and smiling at everyone. The
child’s mother slapped the child and said, "Stop that grinning! You’re in
church." Erma wrote, "I wanted to grab this child with the tearstained face
close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God. The God who had to
have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us."

The Power of a Mighty Purpose

The power of a great purpose can be a star of joy in our lives. What a driving force
purpose can be! "We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him"
(Matthew 2:2). Who said those words? It was the magi who came to Bethlehem.

The Bible does not say they were three, nor does it say that they were kings.
"They were not kings, these wise men, but in Media and Persia they were the masters
of kings . . . In the name of science and religion they held first rank in the
nation" (Giovanni Papini, <italic>Life of Christ</italic>, Harcourt,
Brace and Company, 1923). In December 1603, Johannes Kepler observed a conjunction of the
planets Saturn and Jupiter in the zodiac sign of Pisces. The planet Mars joined the
conjunction the following spring. Calculating backward. Kepler discovered that such a
conjunction occurred when Jesus was born. Such a conjunction in Pisces would signify some
memorable event in Judea. When the magi saw this sign, they had the power of a great
purpose to move them to the Holy Land. George Bernard Shaw wrote these words, "This
is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty
one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a
force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances,
complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

The Presence of Jesus of Nazareth

The presence of Jesus of Nazareth can be a star of joy in your life. We all remember
the symbols that Jesus chose for himself: The Good Shepherd, the Living Bread, the Water
of life. The symbol that means the most to me is the last symbol that the Scriptures say
that Jesus chose for himself. Of the 80 books that make up the Bible, you can find these
words on the last page of the last book of this divine library: "I Jesus . . . am the
bright Star of dawn" (Revelation 22:16). What a wonderful symbol for Christ in the
space age! We have launched humanity on the sea of space. An astronaut is a "sailor
of the stars." See the symbol of the star as a sign for Jesus of Nazareth, a man of
great joy. He said to his friends on Thursday night as he had dinner with them before he
was arrested, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and
that your joy may be full" (John 15:11).

Where did Jesus find joy in his life? Jesus found joy in his
<italic>friends</italic>. He found joy in his
<italic>faith</italic> in God whom he called by the familiar name
"Abba." He found joy in his <italic>fight</italic> against evil,
sickness, and ignorance. He found joy in his <italic>future</italic> ("He
accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that
God put before him." -Hebrews 12:2).

Here are the stars of joy. They are people who are bright lights in the dark nights.
There is the power of a mighty purpose that leads you onward through dark times. There is
the presence of Jesus of Nazareth.

Your Personal Choice to be a Star in a Dark World

There is one more star of joy. It is your personal choice, your personal contribution
to life. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote to his friends, "You are living
with crooked and mean people all around you. Among them you shine like stars in the dark
world" (Philippians 2:15). It is not enough that we have had the privilege of having
stars in our lives. We are called to <bold>be</bold> stars in the life of
someone else. Here is the formula for joy. The "J" stands for Jesus. The
"Y" stands for You.

The "O" stands for Zero, Nothing. When nothing comes between Jesus and you,
you have joy!

THE STAR FOLLOWER’S CREED

by Dr. Edward Chinn

 "When I walk in darkness, I will not forget the stars!*

Nor will I only gaze idly at them.

I will keep on following my star until

it comes to stand over the realization of my God-given dream."

* = the four meanings of the star in the preceding message.

 © Edward Chinn 1976