Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Old Testament and Epistle lessons (Zephaniah 3: 14-18 and Philippians 4: 4-9).

My friend Reed was planning to take his 3 year-old daughter Abby to the circus. As most children are at that age, Abby was terribly excited about seeing the circus, even days ahead. She was so excited that she was finding it difficult to fall asleep the night before. Reed went in to lay down with her, to try to settle her down before the big day. "Now honey, you need to go to sleep or else you will be too tired to really enjoy tomorrow." You know how the rest goes. But Abby was thrilled. "Daddy, I'm so happy. I just want to thank you for taking me to the circus tomorrow!" Abby was rejoicing, but she wasn't rejoicing about something that had already happened. She was rejoicing in anticipation of what was about to happen to her. (Story from Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, Concordia Seminary)

Zephaniah and Paul both teach us that it is good for believers to "Rejoice!" Did they proclaim "rejoicing" because their lives were going so well? Not really, in fact not at all, earthly speaking. In Zephaniah's case, he has spent several chapters telling the Israelites of the impending judgment, the disaster that would come because of the generations of unrepentant sin and failure to turn to their Lord. The hammer of the Lord was about to come down on Jerusalem, and did just a few decades later. Yet the prophet Zephaniah teaches Judah to "Rejoice, shout, be glad and rejoice with all your heart." How could he say "Rejoice"?

Paul teaches the Philippians to "Rejoice", but in Paul's case he wouldn't seem to have much to rejoice about. He is sitting in chains and feeling lonely (2:20). He is concerned that faithful preaching of the Gospel is in jeopardy (1: 15, 2: 21). � One friend of his had very nearly died of an illness. Two other friends were engaged in a public squabble that was hurting the church (4: 2-3). Paul didn't seem to have a lot to rejoice about. But yet he says "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice." How can both of these servants of God, one a prophet, one an apostle, teach us to "Rejoice"?

It is often hard for us to feel like rejoicing. Our lives are busy, hectic. We have pains and concerns, even worries about what tomorrow will bring. What about my diagnosis? What about my kids? What about my popularity among my friends at school? But to questions like that the apostle and the prophet give us wondrous answers. "Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Important to note: Joy and happiness can be very different. Lots of people might ask you if you are happy over the next few weeks, friends and relatives you haven't seen for a while. Happiness might best be described as our emotional response to our present circumstances. Many of us were very happy last Saturday night when K-State beat Oklahoma so handily (and we talked about that happiness). This morning there is much happiness in Baghdad and Washington (and here too) because Saddam Hussein has finally been captured (and I'm sure we will be talking about this). ��

But those earthly events don't give us "joy" the way the Bible speaks of it. Joy only comes with our realization that the Lord Jesus is near, that He is mighty to save, that He quiets our anxieties with His love. Joy comes with His peace. You may have recognized the verse Philippians 4: 7 as the one I normally close my sermons with. Joy and peace are connected. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ bring us peace of mind and heart, and thus bring us joy. Here is joy worth talking about and showing to others.

In 1976 a military airplane crashed at Sonderstrom Air Force Base in Greenland. Twenty-seven people were on the plane, only one survived. The runway and the nearby fields were strewn with bodies. It was a tragic and horrible moment. There was only one chaplain on the base at the time and the entire burden was laid on him to bring comfort and the Word of Christ to a shocked community staggered by the horrendous accident. But there was little time to mourn that day. The grisly task of gathering up and identifying the bodies needed to be done. And so, the chaplain, along with a young lieutenant who had been assigned the duties of a mortuary officer and a group of volunteers went about the awful business of picking up the mutilated bodies and trying to identify the dead, so that their families and loved ones back home could be notified.

It was a heart-breaking and exhausting task, but it had to be done. The people worked in shocked silence well into the night until they almost dropped from fatigue. When every last remnant of death had been picked up, they each went silently to their individual rooms. That night, after midnight, there was a knock on the chaplain's door. Outside stood the young lieutenant, the Mortuary Officer. He said nothing at first, he just stood there and wept. After some moments, the young lieutenant spoke through his tears and he said to the chaplain, "As we were picking up the bodies today, I realized something. I realized that the only other people out there with us were the people who go to church here. I have always been an unbeliever, and I used to ridicule these same people who were out there with us. Yet they are the only persons who would, or perhaps could, do what we had to do today. It must have been their Christian spirit that could help them see beyond the horror to the hope."

That tragic day turned around the life of that young lieutenant. As he had admitted, he had never been religious, had seldom gone to church except for weddings and funerals, but from that time on he was a new man. Christ was born in his heart. From that day on He knew the joy and peace that the world cannot give, which transcends all earthly understanding. From that time forward, he took an active part in the Christian ministry of that base. Then he did an unheard thing � he extended his tour of duty in Greenland for an extra year. He was the first person in the history of that base to do that. He did it because he wanted to be able to tell others the story of how the power of the Christian Hope had changed his life.

On page after page of the New Testament we find it: the Good News that God will win, that nothing can defeat Him; that ultimately God and His goodness will have the victory and that when we put our hope in Him, nothing, not even death, can separate us from His watchful care and His love and His triumph. Once each year, Christmas comes along to renew our hope and to remind us that the darkness of this world cannot overcome the Light of the Christ. (Sonderstrom story modified from Dr. James W. Moore, ChristianGlobe Sermons, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2003.) �

Once per year, at Easter we are reminded Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, conquered death for us. If you want to give your loved ones a great Christmas present this year, give them the gift of Christian Hope. If you want see and experience true Christmas joy in yourself and share it with others, don't look to temporary presents or festivities. Look to the Savior who came and was in our midst, just as Zephaniah had prophesied. He has taken away our punishment and taken it on Himself on the cross.

We have joy, but this joy is more than just happiness and pleasure. Happiness and pleasure come through having positive earthly experiences. But Joy, true Joy comes only through the realization of what eternity holds for us, brought to us for the sake of Christ. Joy, true Joy is like the thankfulness little Abby had that her father was going to take her to the circus, her anticipation of a future joy. We too have anticipation of a future joy. We struggle through anxieties and problems brought upon us in this sinful world. But we don't do that alone. The Lord has come to this earth that mourns in lonely exile here, but He has ransomed His captive, we His church the new Israel. He is rejoicing over us, singing. He has opened wide our heavenly home. When we look back with at his First Coming and trust and appreciate what He did, and when we look forward to His Second Coming, what He has yet to do, we can be like joyous little Abby waiting for the circus. But we can wait with a peaceful joy, and can share that with others. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)