Good Christian Men — and Mamas — Rejoice!
“Good Chrstian Men Rejoice,” written in the 14th century, is one of our oldest Christmas songs. It begins:
Good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul, and voice.
As we think about rejoicing at Christmastime, let’s think about some things Jesus taught about rejoicing and about some of the people who rejoiced in the gospels.
When Mary arrived at the home of Elizabeth, she told her:
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Luke 1:47
The wise men rejoiced “exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10) when they saw the star.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His followers to rejoice and be glad when people insulted them, persecuted them, and said all kinds of evil against them falsely because of Him, saying:
. . . for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
Matthew 5:12
Jesus taught His disciples that they should rejoice that their names are recorded in heaven (Luke 10:20).
In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus spoke of the shepherd rejoicing over the one found sheep more than over the ninety-nine which had not gone astray (Matthew 18:13). In the parable of the lost coin, He tells of the woman calling together her friends and neighbors after she found it, saying:
Rejoice with me,
for I have found the coin which I had lost!
Luke 15:9
When the seventy disciples whom Jesus had sent out to every city and place He was going to go returned from their mission, Jesus rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit and praised God (Luke 10:1-22)
Jesus told a parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. When the older brother in the parable balked at the way the father celebrated his younger son’s return, his father told him:
But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
for this brother of yours was dead
and has begun to live,
and was lost and has been found.
Luke 15:32
I do hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday and a Joyous Season.
Sometimes the circumstances in our lives make this a challenge. And sometimes the pressure to try to feel those ways feels like just one more pressure. However, the rejoicing people experienced in the gospels and the reasons for rejoicing that Jesus taught are true and comforting, no matter how we may feel at a given time.
The woman in the parable of the lost coin and the father in the parable of the prodigal son wanted others to rejoice with them. I encourage you to train your children in how to rejoice with others, and I encourage us all to seek out lonely people who need someone to rejoice with them this Christmas.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
and weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15