Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an unspeakable joy … (1 Peter 1:8).

As we approach Christmas and the culmination of our Unspeakable Joy series, let’s notice the noise of the story, as we’re given it in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

The first Christmas, the real one, had its unique noisiness:  Gabriel speaking and Zechariah then sitting silent for nine months; Elizabeth bursting into blessing when visited by Mary, Zechariah at last gushing forth prophecy in poetry, Mary joyfully birthing a song that has then been sung for twenty centuries.  Angels speaking, in dreams and visions, giving instruction on what’s to come, names to be given; angels singing, filling a night sky with glory and praise.  Shepherds spreading the good news of what they had seen and heard.  Make a joyful noise to the Lord!

Other noises, too, and not pleasant ones: Jerusalem disturbed by a simple question, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?”  Cries of pain as Herod’s henchmen do the boss’s bidding in Bethlehem.  The sounds of a family of three, packing up hurriedly in order to flee the country.  Whenever God speaks, whenever God acts – and God is always speaking, always acting – there is resistance.

And all the normal noises of what they then and we now think of as “real life,” a life that has totally missed what’s happening.  The sounds of distractions and busyness and can’t-be-bothered, don’t-have-time.

In the midst of all those different kinds of noisiness, Unspeakable Joy: God is doing something that outstrips the ability of human language to describe or define.  Good News so good that “there just aren’t words for it!”  Ancient promises that were never forgotten now coming to fulfillment.  A joy perhaps best expressed in tears, in laughter, in shouting and singing even if you don’t know the words.  Joy that squeezes up and out from the deepest places, in poetry, singing, dancing, painting.  Joy that summons to a journey, awakens the desire to bring gifts and fall down in worship.

An unspeakable joy that must be spoken, must become speakable!  Because it’s a joy that is for all the people.  It starts small and quiet (“how silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given”): an old couple, far past their prime; a not-yet-married young woman encountered by an angel; a small village, a few shepherds … a baby.  99.99% of the people alive at the time totally not paying any attention.

It’s not a private joy for a select few.  It is a very public joy for everyone, a joy that moves “up” to the Caesars and Herods if they’ll listen, “down” to shepherds, all the way “out” to magi from far away, across every border and boundary, whether natural or man-made, until --

The start of the story is not the end of the story.  The baby who couldn’t say a word is the Word who was in the beginning with God, who was God, who is the Word made flesh, and what he says is who he is: King of kings and Lord of lords.  And that means joy to and for the whole world.

We will never be able to say enough about that joy.  But we should never stop speaking of it, showing it, singing, dancing and painting it.  The God who cannot be captured in words has spoken himself into our humanity, that our humanity might be carried up into the life of God.   How could we keep quiet about that?

Merry Christmas, Chatham Community Church, from the Connect Devotional team!