Your cancer’s cured.

Your credit cards are paid off.

You got the job.

Lions won the Super Bowl.

Lions made it to the Super Bowl (for ye of little faith…)

The baby’s healthy.

The Syrian civil war has ended.

ISIS has been crushed.

The Good News of Christmas is better than all of the above.

It’s because we, a desperately imperfect and fearful race whose insecurities and lack of faith create many of the burdens under which we suffer, have been put on notice that the most sought after gift in the universe has arrived: Peace.

Peace that comes from the power we now have to forgive those we hate. Peace that comes from an indwelling spirit that strengthens us to endure paths we dread. And peace that comes from the assurance that our most worried about concerns have been taken care of.

This is why angels sing and shepherds preach.

The Incarnation unlocks the mystery of God’s power that has come to break the chains that are binding us, liberating us to a vast universe of possibility.

God has shown us that he cares deeply about us – about every little thing – and we get a sense of this by imagining if everything on the list above (you can add more) were to actually come true. Think about your joy. And bring it with you to church to share with the rest of us tomorrow.