Sharing the Joy
Today’s Scripture Selection: Luke 1:58
“When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.”
Mary wasn’t the only one who was expecting. Elizabeth and her husband were expecting a “miracle child” of their own.
When the time came – everyone came and “shared her joy” – and I can easily imagine why. It was a miracle. In her advanced age, she and her husband have the amazing experience of bringing a baby into the world, but there was more to the miracle than that. Their child was to be named John. He would later become known as “the Baptizer.”
If the friends and family of Elizabeth and Zechariah had fully appreciated who this unexpected baby really was – their joy would have been even fuller than it was. John would grow up to be the one blessed to “prepare the way” for the Lord.
We too can share in the joy of these miraculous births.
Not only can we experience joy in our own lives by remembering them – we can share that joy with all those who cross our path who deeply need to hear about what they mean.
These are the days filled with holiday parties, sentimental movies, gift giving and receiving, eating, eating, and more eating. Most of all these should be the days of sharing the joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
After all – what greater joy can there be than that?
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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